Charms Of A Scarlet Lady
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: Professor Cierra, an expert of plant science visits Flower Bud Village, seeking ingredients for her new experiment. Somehow, poor Ray is forced to cooperate with her, while the newest farmer, a city girl named Rothe, hides in fear. It's done now, people.
1. Charms of A Couple

_Disclaimer: No, I STILL don't own the rights to Harvest Moon, OR Riviera: The Promised Land, if any of you are familiar with the second title mentioned. If any of you are wondering why I'm even combining these two worlds together, think about it for a minute. Then you'll realize the wondrous potential behind this combination._

_Fall 19, 2006_

_Hey, Echibi! How's your life been going so far in the army? I know it's a little odd for one of your old college professors to contact you after you finally graduated, but I really enjoyed our time spent at Asgard University. So then, you might be wondering, "Why exactly did an old friend from college waste a bunch of her time finding out an ex-student's most recent station just to contact him?" Well, that's a good question! You see, I remember how well you and Rothe got along so well, I felt you had the right to know... I'll be taking a break to stop by Flower Bud Village and check out the place! I don't know why someone as sharp-minded and sharp-mouthed as Rothe is doing there, but I felt that a rural place like that is perfect to do some studies for my plant biology projects! I even heard another old friend of has been hiking around the place, so I'm hoping to catch him before Winter comes along and drives him away! So, how's the army been treating you? Have you been making some lady friends along the way? Because you always seemed like quite the ladies' man at Asgard U, but without Rothe to spoil your fun, it must be paradise for you! Well, I'm taking off soon. Please stay in contact. It would be a shame not to be able to talk to my favorite student, wouldn't it, Ein?_

_- Cierra, the "Scarlet Professor"_

On a sunny day in Lacrima Park, a baby-faced young man with bluish-brown hair curiously read a letter with a young lady with short blue hair reading over his shoulder.

"... Professor Cierra's going to Flower Bud Village!" The young man named Ein exclaimed.

The lady glared curiously at the signed name. "The "Scarlet Professor"? Does she really go by that? It kinda sounds like one of those porn star names, and why did she call you Echibi?"

Ein coughed. "Ah... yeah, Professor Cierra enjoys it when someone address her that way. I think it's because her hair and clothes are all red. And, well... as for the porn star bit, let's just say she hates being called a slut or anything like that."

He then reads over the first sentence clutched his head. "Yeah, that was Professor Cierra's bizarre pet name for me. She apparently studied Japanese in her free time, and she told me it was a play on the words, "Echi", and "Chibi", and that she's basically calling me a "Childish Pervert" or somewhere along those lines. It's all because of the random College antics I've been through that people thought I was a pervert, and Professor Cierra's nickname ended up sticking! Geez! I told them all it was an accident, but no one believes me!"

The blue-haired woman gave Ein a coy stare. "Gee, I wonder why?" she asked sarcastically.

Ein laughed nervously. "Right... anyway, I'm a little worried about Rothe. Those two always had the strangest relationship. Professor Cierra was always unusually affectionate towards Rothe, while she was just really creeped out. It gets really strange at parties, when the Professor got drunk. She would be treating Rothe like a house cat and calling her "Gateau". We've always tried to avoid a party with the Professor since then..."

The young lady suddenly busted out laughing. "HAHAHAAHAHA! ARE YOU SERIOUS? THAT SMARTASS' PROFESSOR MEWING AROUND AND CALLING HER "GATEAU"? OH, THAT'S RICH!"

Ein gulped. "Serene, that's not funny! If you were there, you would realize how disturbing the whole thing was..."

After an extended period of laughing, the blue-haired woman finally calmed down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's just, the thought of old "cat ears" being tortured like that... oh man..."

Ein glared at her old friend suspiciously. "You really don't like her, do you?"

"Not really... especially after how catty she was to me two years ago. Honestly Ein, I don't understand how you can actually stay friends with shameless chick" Serene scoffed.

Ein decided to disregard the last comment as he observed the date. "Fall 19, huh? This was two days ago. I suppose she should have made it the Flower Bud Village by now. Still, I heard about the inhabits by Rothe, and I'm not sure how they'll be able to cope with her around."

Serene folded her arms and looked at the sky curiously. "Flower Bud Village? It sounds like a place full of country bumpkins. Anyway, this Professor Cierra sounds like a real kook" she remarked.

Ein nodded in uneasy agreement. "That she is..."

_Author's Note: "Who are these people? Where are the Harvest Moon All-stars?" Relax, this is the Prologue. Trust me, when the story starts kicking into high gear, you'll realize this doesn't belong into the Riviera Section, because... it mainly takes place in Flower Bud Village, if you haven't paid attention to the letter! But don't you guys worry, we'll get to see our favorite Fisherman Ray and the lovely new Professor Cierra in the next Chapter! Until then, ciao fellahs!_


	2. Charms of Friendship

**Harvest Moon: Magical Melody**

**Charms of a Scarlet Lady**

In the humble land of Flower Bud Village, two friendly figures were casually conversing.

One was an older man with brown hair tied in a ponytail, and sharp blue eyes. He wore his usual blue traveling robes and is almost never seen without his trusty, top-quality fishing pole.

The other was a young lady with chocolate brown hair tied into two curly tails by green ribbons. She wore a stylish green blazer over a black sleeveless top along with a matching green skirt. Her big green eyes sparkled with life and wit.

"So Ray, how's your search for the King Fish been going lately?" the grinning young lady asked.

The man called Ray shrugged. "Not as good as I hoped. Ever since Jack caught the infamous Jamasquid, news of the other King Fish seemed to diminish. It's like they've somehow become wary since one of their own was caught. I can only hope for the best after rainy days" he sighed.

Rothe nodded. "We must have some pretty smart fish around these parts. Still, I'm going to be rootin' for ya. Jack's too busy with some other things to get in your way, and Flower Bud Village is going to need more than unproven legends to be recognized by the outside world" she noted.

Ray nodded. "Don't worry. Just leave the angling to me!" he proclaimed.

Rothe responded with her most cheerful expression yet. "You know, you've really started to get comfortable with the ladies, lately! I mean, sure it was just luck that we clicked so easily, but you've really come out of your own lately! You've been off enjoying horse riding with Gwen for a while, and you've even managed to hold a conversation with Maria in the library! I'm even more impressed with how you've been able to handle Jill's affectionate act whenever she's around you!"

Ray went into deep thought to reflect his gradual social change. "Gwen was the first lady friend I've made because she approached me first and challenged my fear. And Jill? I'm surprised that I'm actually getting used to her. But I guess her daily cheer can rub off you. Jack must really enjoy her company as his little sister, because I think I'm starting to know how he feels as a big brother" he grinned.

He then nodded to himself as he went into deep thought. "But Maria... I sense a kindred spirit in her as we talk. She seems so confident about her knowledge of the world, but very unsure of what true joys it can offer her. She's believes so strongly in her faith, and yet I feel as if she believes so little in herself. Even knowing this, I'm still not sure if it would be fitting to be with her" he wondered aloud.

Rothe grinned. "Wow, that's pretty deep. You're starting to sound like a bona fide Wiseman!" she cried.

Ray shrugged. "People tend to learn more about the world as they travel around it. I've already seen so much in my life, but there are still times I miss my brother Cliff because of remembering the past" he confessed.

Rothe gazed in slight awe of Ray's wisdom, and thought back to one he missed dearly. "Wait a minute! Ein's off seeing the world because of his army duties right now! If Mr. Fisherman here sounds so smart because of HIS traveling days, I wonder if it's going to have the same effect on Ein? Or, is he just going to come back as his hopeful, wide-eyed, babyish self? Well, whatever happens, I hope he doesn't come back all serious and disciplined like Ledah! Only one Ledah is enough in this world!" she thought.

"Anyway..." she continued "I also hear you've been hanging out at the Moonlight Cafe and have been getting comfortable with Eve lately! I know you have that deepest respect for the Librarian, but is this thing with Eve actually getting serious, or is she just piling on the flirting in your honor?" she asked.

Ray once again nodded to himself. "Right, that outgoing woman. To my surprise, she's a very deep thinker herself. She's even willing to offer helpful advice to those who come seeking it. Yes, she's a rather flirty vixen, but she also has this earnest desire to help people with their daily lives in her own little way. It's pretty refreshing to know we have women like her and the motherly Ellen taking care of this village" he answered with a hint of facsination.

"That's nice and everything, but it still doesn't quite answer my question" Rothe frankly stated.

"You seem to know me very well, Rothe. Who do you think I care about most?" he responded smartly.

Rothe sighed. "The Librarian Chick, I guess. He always blabs on about her so fondly whenever we bring her up!" she thought to herself. Physically, the city girl in green stared back at him with a sly expression.

"Then I guess I don't need to explain myself" he calmly annouced.

Rothe groaned. "That's because you're still too embarrassed to talk about that kind of thing..." she tactfully replied.

Ray gave the young lady a suspicious glance. "I see... and I suppose by now you've already written a confessing love letter to your friend Ein?" he announced.

The humbled Rothe gagged. "W-what? Ein? That helpless, poor excuse of a man? I never said ANYTHING about loving HIM!" she cried with a tomato-red face.

The fisherman coughed. "I feel sorry that you're the kind of person to pick on someone you appreciate so much. It puts an unneeded distance between the two of you."

Embarrassed beyond belief, Rothe got on her knees and laughed bashfully.

After taking a few moments to get over her humility, the usually sassy city girl brought her hands together and slowly raised her head.

"DAMN IT, RAY! I ALREADY ARGUE ENOUGH WITH JAMIE! I DON'T NEED ANOTHER PERSON YANKING MY CHAIN!" she shouted with tears in her eyes.

Thinking quickly, Ray reached deep into a pocket and took out a handkerchief, which he immediately leant to the teary-eyed Rothe. "You asked for it, you know" he sighed.

Rothe accepted as she gently placed her eyes upon the soft cloth.

"As soon as you started getting lucky with girls, that bastard Ein is having ladies swarming all over him! He's even starting to date some blue-haired creep that threatened to beat me up on Rosalina Island!" she complained while letting her tears run over the handkerchief.

Ray glared at this sudden display in astonishment. "Wow... that came out of nowhere..." he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Rothe's ears twitched, which abruptly interrupted her crying spree.

"Hm? That's odd. I feel like something special's supposed to happen today." She said to herself.

"Really? Are you supposed to be some sort of prophet, now?" Ray asked curiously.

"Not exactly. Whenever I feel my ears twitch, it's usually a sign of things to come. I just wish that happened with the fake cat ears I wear sometimes. That would be cool!" she explained.

Caught completely off-guard by her last statement, Ray glared at her awkwardly.

"Uh, right... anyway, my "senses" tend to go either way, but it seems like this particular occasion seems to lean more towards a bad omen." she said cautiously.

Suddenly, an image that utterly disturbed the poor young lady flashed into her mind. She cringed in fright.

"Rothe! Rothe? Are you okay? You look a little---"

"I'm fine. I'm FINE! Just please leave me to my farming! I have a busy day ahead of me! Sorry to cut this short, Ray! Good bye!" she cried out in a panic as she dragged the fisherman a few yards from her home. She then speed walked straight towards the doors of her barn.

"Okay, that was odd. I've never seen Rothe freak out like that, but whatever it is, I'm sure she was just over reacting!" He said to himself. "Well then, if I remember correctly, Liz told me to meet her at the Spring Farm for something. I don't know what she wants with me, though. I'm not an expert on plants like Basil is."

After thinking to himself a little more, the wizened fisherman decided to make his way towards the Spring Farm, unaware of what awaited him there.

_Author's Note: Curious who Ein and the "Blue-haired creep" is? I've just happened to write a fanfic about their first encounter in the Riviera section called, "Lacrima Castle Tour". Even if you're not a Riviera fan, check it out of you enjoy reading romantic comedy stories. I guarantee you, it's plenty of fun. Anyway, stick around for the next Chapter, where Ray finally runs into his "nemesis", the Scarlet Professor. 'Till next time, cheers!_

_Wow… I actually continued this hiatus-stricken fanfic… _


	3. Charms of The Professor

**Chapter 2**

Following a clear pathway, it didn't take too long for the Master Fisherman to reach the Spring Farm.

Although he didn't open the door, Ray could hear a conversation going on inside the Spring Farm's seed store. He slowly opened the door, so as not to be rude to interrupt the chatting.

On the other side, two women were indeed talking with each other.

"It's really too long that I've seen you, but I'm really glad you've decided to visit today!"

"Well, you know Liz, when it comes to my kind of work, I end up having to look after young adults wanting to make it out in the world, whether I like it or not. Still, I've met a lot of interesting characters while working at Asgard U!"

"Really? Do tell!"

"Certainly! Actually, I've heard that one of my old students has recently moved here and is trying to make it as a farmer! Her name is Rothe!"

"Rothe? That sassy young lady? Yeah, she's been coming here a lot for farming advice!"

Ray completely opened up the door to find a familiar face speaking to somebody new, but both of them are clearly old friends.

The owner of the Spring Farm, Liz, stood behind her counter with her short, fluffy pink hair adorned with a green bow. She wore a long yellow apron over her casual red dress.

The young lady she was talking too had long, scarlet red hair that nearly blended with her equally scarlet buttoned blazer and skirt. She had a really fine figure, one that could compete with either Eve or Gwen. Her big brown eyes and charming smile suggested a friendly nature, however, there was just something a little bit off about this particular woman...

"Oh! Ray, good timing! Come on in!" Liz called out.

The scarlet-haired lady's expression changed from warm and friendly to curious and analytical.

"Hmm... who's this rugged young man? He looks about my age, and seems perfectly healthy, but he's certainly no Basil" she grinned.

Liz giggled. "Well, I'm sorry I couldn't get Basil for you! He's really hard to contact when I need him, and I know how much you've been meaning to see him!" she explained.

"Don't worry. If he's as knowledgeable about the land as you say he is, he'll do for now!" she said.

Ray walked closer to the counter to meet Liz.

"Uh... hello, and sorry I'm sorry to barge in. Er... Liz, who is this woman, and what does she want with me?" he asked.

Liz nodded. "True. Anyway, this woman standing here is my old friend, Cierra! She's a Professor in Biology for Asgard University, and she took a week off to study the plant life here with Basil! Unfortunately, we can't seem to find him at the moment, so we would appreciate it if you could show her around for a while."

Ray glared at the motherly proprietor. "Wait! I'm giving ANOTHER free tour of this place? Why do people always come to me when someone new comes along, anyway?" he demanded to know.

"It's because you're the one who's seen the most of this place, and, well... unlike the rest of us, you don't have a REAL job to be tied down to!" she cheerfully answered.

Ray took slight offense at Liz's little comment, but decided to disregard it.

The scarlet-haired beauty slowly, but calmly approached the fisherman. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ray!" she said as she offered her hand to Ray.

"Yes... nice to meet you as well, Professor Cierra" Ray answered as he firmly grasped her hand and shook like a gentleman.

"Please, no need to be so formal. Just call me Cierra!" she insisted.

Ray barely managed to form a smile in his uneasy state. "I'll keep that in mind."

The scarlet scientist's eyes narrowed so slightly.

"Hmm... there's something very interesting about this one. He doesn't seem quite as potential as Rothe, but I believe he can be of great use to me" she thought to herself.

Unfortunately for her, Ray continued to sense something very disturbing about her presence, but Liz still looked perfectly fine.

"Please don't mind young Ray, he's just starting to get used to women, but he's still a little shy. I'm just sure he'll easily warm up to you once he gets to know you." Liz explained.

Ray let out a big sigh. "I have a bad feeling about this" he thought to himself.

Immediately, the eager Cierra seized Ray by the arm.

"Sorry, Liz, I think I better get started at seeing the sights! The sooner I know this place, the sooner I know where to go!" she cried.

"I understand, honey. Ray, please take care of Cierra!" Liz called back.

After the two longtime friends waved goodbye to each other, Cierra continued to drag poor Ray outside of the store.

The scarlet lady's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Now to business! Ray, I insist that you take me to see Mt. Moon this instant! Basil wrote me once, saying that's the best place for various herbs!" she demanded.

"Mt. Moon? Right now? Wouldn't you like to see some of the other facilities first?" Ray suggested.

Cierra thought about it for a moment. "Oh, okay. But just tell me which is which on the way to the mountain. I only have so much time to waste, and I have this little experiment I've just been dying to try out!"

Ray sighed. "Experiment? But aren't you a College Professor?" he inquired.

Cierra gave an amused laugh. "Young man, of course I have my papers to grade every now and then, but I also have a few personal projects to keep me busy, and considerable progress could possibly earn me a grant in the process!" she exclaimed. "Now, off we go!"

Ray groaned at the Professor's overzealous attitude, but was relieved to feel that her grip on his arm had considerably loosened up.


	4. Charms of A Blue Flower

**Chapter 3**

After giving a brief tour of the village, Ray escorted the Scarlet Professor to the upper reaches of Mt. Moon.

Enveloped completely by her fascination with plants, the outgoing Cierra picked up fungi, berries, and herbs without restraint.

"Basil was right! Flower Bud Village is a treasure trove of flora and fauna! It's... it's all so lovely!" she exclaimed.

Ray glared, totally astounded. "I see... I know how much I love fish, but I've never actually... glomped and kissed them before... this lady's practically indulging herself..." he thought.

"The mushrooms smell so wonderful! And they taste even better! And the toadstools are full of potent poisons! And the herbs are so delightfully fragrant, and full of medicinal purposes! If only I came here during the other seasons to see the Moondrop and Pinkcat Flowers..." Cierra fawned. She then let out a sigh of delight as she continued to take in the sights.

While the plant lover was distracted, Ray decided to use his brief break to go fishing by the waterfall. The Master Fisherman managed to snag a Silver Carp just before Cierra yanked him away.

"I've used far too much valuable time here! Now take me to a legendary Bue Mist Flower!" she demanded.

Ray sighed. "Fine. It should just be a short hike from here" he answered.

Ray and Cierra then walked away from the waterfall, and towards a narrow path littered with boulders. They had carefully squeezed through a few in order to continue on their way, but after awhile, they managed to make it to a cottage near the highest cliff.

"This place used to be full of boulders, until my good friend Jack decided to have a mountain home built here. Now this area is abundant in interesting plants, especially your precious Blue Mist Flower." Ray explained as he showed her around. He then let out a nervous chuckle.

"That sounds like something Basil would say when giving tour. Man, where is that botanist anyway? If he were around more, I wouldn't have to give these kinds of tours" Ray thought to himself.

After searching frantically through all the herbs, Cierra found a lone blue flower stand out in the field. Her mouth filled with drool as she was mesmerized by its rare, mystical presence. "The Blue Mist Flower! How Beautiful! Such an enticing scent it gives off! And what a brilliant dew it produces! Truly, its soft, delicate petals shall provide the proper catalyst for my ground-breaking elixir!" she exclaimed.

Ray's eyes blinked in confusion. "Eh... are you trying to be an alchemist of some sort?" he asked.

"DO NOT TAKE MY RESEARCH SO LIGHTLY!" she shouted, before continuing to drool over her discovery. "Alchemy... its concepts were filled with fanciful notions of turning lead into gold, and discovering the secret of immortality, but its knowledge of life and chemicals have lead it to evolve into humanity's true marvel: The wonders of Science!" she cried passionately.

Upon hearing this, Ray's jaw dropped. "This... this woman is crazy!" he thought.

She then carefully plucked the flower from the ground, and slowly placed it in a vase she contained for safe-keeping. "There, there. I mustn't ruin such a precious sample so carelessly." she said in a babying tone, "the flower must be delivered in fresh condition."

Nervously, Ray desperately tried to produce a casual smile, as not to disturb the Professor during her work. When Cierra faced him once again, the fisherman managed to complete a friendly expression.

"Ahh... okay, so are you done, now? You want me to escort you to wherever you'll be staying for the week? Or do you want me to show you the rest of the town, now?" he asked.

Cierra immediately shook her head, then turned her attention to the cliff nearby, trying to scan its summit from her current position.

"We must make the climb up that peak at once! I am curious to see what up there!" she insisted.

Ray groaned again. "Cierra, there's rarely anything up there... well, except for the wonderful view of the wilderness beyond the peak, but there really isn't much to obtain on the summit itself."

"Perhaps..." Cierra uttered in a low voice. "But today could be our lucky day..."

Ray folded his arms and thought for a second. "What in the world could this lady be seeking at the top of a cliff? I've been up there a couple of times now, and I know that nothing is capable of growing up there. The only thing I ever see there is the occasional blue feather, but I've seen no sign of the blue bird lately. Somehow, I doubt this woman's looking for a spouse with how preoccupied she is with her hobby..."

Again, the Scarlet Professor dragged Ray to here chosen destination, but this time, she chucked Ray into the mountain wall. "Now well shall climb!" she proclaimed as she clasped her hands against the cliff.

After an arduous climb, which consisted of Ray receiving a few bumps to the head, and Cierra using her partner's body as cover for the falling boulders, the pair finally made it to the summit. But as Ray said, nothing was to be found there.

Utterly disappointed, the disheartened Cierra snapped her fingers. "Darn! And I was hoping to find a blue feather here!"

"WHAT?" Ray shouted in complete surprise.

"Yeah. Liz told me all about the blue feather, like how it's used to propose to people, and how it came from the legendary blue bird. I was hoping to study the psychological effects of the beloved local treasure, and gather some biological data on the blue bird itself. It's always nice to study those kinds of things" Cierra explained.

"You mean you were planning to use a blue feather in one of your experiments?" Ray cried.

Cierra blinked. "Yeah. I'm not really up for marriage right now, but this blue feather still sounds intriguing."

Ray lowered his head in slight disgust. "Today could've been a special day where someone was ready for marriage and she would've just selfishly stolen the feather for one of her experiments..." he thought.

Determined not to loose hope, the passionate Cierra shook her fist in the sky. "I swear one day that I WILL obtain a blue feather for my own purposes, and the mystery of the blue bird will be solved!" she declared.

Suddenly, a lingering thought caught her attention. "Although... it would be pretty nice if Basil was my destined man, and he proposed to me with a blue feather. I mean, that way, I kill two birds with one stone! Not only do I get a man, but I also get a valuable sample for experimentations!" she thought with glee.

Ray then noticed Cierra's enamored expressions and stared at her with fear. "What is she thinking about this time?" he gulped.

After being momentarily pleased by her fantasies, Cierra pounded her right fist upon her left hand. "Now we must return to the village so I can retire for the day!" she announced.

Ray shrugged. "Don't you want to see the rest of the village first?" Ray asked.

"No! I'm already getting tired from this lengthily hike we took. I must rest before I can further explore this land!" she explained.

"Okay, but first we'll have to get down from here..." he said as he pointed downward.

Cierra brimmed with total confidence. "Don't worry! I'm sure going down will be much easier than going up!" she exclaimed.

And soon enough, the two of them made their way down in record time.

Ray ended up having to catch his breath, while Cierra searched a pack she brought for something important. After rummaging through her pack for a little, she brought out a bottle of Blueberry juice and took a few sips.

"Nothing like a refreshing drink to bring back your strength!" she called out in relief.

"Wait? Juice? Why didn't you tell me you had some on you? I was getting hungry and thirsty when we made it to the cliff's peak!" Ray complained.

"Well... you didn't really say anything, and your tummy didn't rumble, so I assumed you didn't want any yet. Besides, it gave me the perfect opportunity to study the limits of your average metabolism" she casually stated.

Ray sighed. "I normally feast on fish and berries when I'm not busy helping people get to know the village."

Cierra nodded to herself. "Good enough. Your have a really healthy diet for someone this day and age, especially when there's a local Cafe" she noted.

"Thanks... I guess..." Ray answered dubiously. He then took the bottle gratefully and chugged down a big portion of it before giving it back. "That was good."

"Well, I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself. Now let's head back to Spring Farm! It might be getting late for that now, but Liz is letting me stay at her place. For as long as I've known that woman, she always made a mean toast and jam!" Cierra grinned.

In response, Ray pointed at the cottage. "Since it's getting late, how about we just spend the night over there instead? Jack doesn't mind if anyone borrows the place if they really need to. And if you don't feel comfortable sharing a bed, I have a sleeping bag in hand."

"NO! WE MUST MAKE IT BACK TO THE VILLAGE! AS SOON AS I WAKE UP, I WANT MY LAB UP AND RUNNING! SO OFF WE GO!" she yelled as she yanked poor Ray to her side yet again.

The fisherman gazed helplessly at the cottage as he was ruthlessly dragged away from it. "Not so patient is she?" he thought with a groan.

Cierra was far too cheerful to notice her traveling partner's plight. She laughed merrily as she took Ray to the village. "I wonder what kinds of wonders tomorrow will bring? I have a special recipe I've just been dying to try out, and now I finally have all the ingredients! Yes, as people, we have merely scratched the surface of the wonders of Science! Soon will come the day that I shall contribute yet another astonishing breakthrough!" she proclaimed.

"Is there really some meaningful purpose behind dragging me all the way here?" Ray inquired.

Suddenly, a deadly glint appeared in the professor's eyes. "Do you doubt my research?" Cierra asked in a quiet, threatening tone.

Ray quivered as Cierra added maniacal laughter to the end of her last sentence.

"I cannot condone your ignorance!" she cried as she pointed an index finger at her partner. "I'll show YOU the power of Science!"

At that moment, Ray felt completely disturbed by Cierra's overzealous behavior. "What have I gotten myself into?" he thought.


	5. Charms of Ruby Tea

**Chapter 4**

The next day arrived in Flower Bud Village, and Professor Cierra already went to work.

Various fragrances flowed out from Liz's kitchen. Bottles and beakers were filled with substances, and knick-knacks were spread all about. The jovial Professor laughed as she prepared the "ingredients" for her mysterious concotion.

"First, I place in a Golden Egg from the land of Tehyth." she grinned as she took a huge Golden Egg that glistened like a true metal. She then cracked the rare beauty as a sparkling red yolk oozed into a bottle.

"Next I place a so-called "Magical Icicle" from who-knows-where to bring it to a propper cooling temperature" she said in slight disbelief as she chucked a cone-shaped piece of ice into the same bottle.

"Then I add in Helikraut for its soothing properties" she said as she dipped a bushy, broccoli-like herb into her mixture, which inexplicably turned it into a ruby color.

"Next comes petals of a Blue Mist Flower, which is known to open the door to a woman's heart!" she said with a wink, when she carefully plucked the beautiful petals from its support stem, and let them float daintily into the ruby potion.

"Finally, I mix it all together with a Paradise Plume, which bears the strength of motherly love!" she sang as she stirred her mixture with a big, blue and gold feather.

After mixing for a few moments, the bottle suddenly let loose a strange smoke that flowed onto the ground.

"Just like dried ice! How marvelous!" she applauded herself.

The Scarlet Professor was just about to announce the completion of her creation when she noticed one tiny flaw from the results.

"Wait a minute... my mixture is emitting a pink smoke, while my artifact book states that it should be a bluish color! What possible miscalculaiton could I have just made?" she asked in frustration.

After scanning carefully through the recipe, she realized the one ingredient missing from her mysterious elixir.

"GAH! NOW WAY! HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS? In order for this to be truly complete, the one vital ingredient that must be added is Water from the Goddess Spring! I must head out at once!" she shouted.

At that moment, Liz had made her decent downstairs, ready to cook up a breakfast.

"Oh! Good Morning, Cierra!" she cried cheerfully.

"Good Morning, Liz" Professor uttered back listlessly.

"Say, are you making yourself some tea in the kitchen? That's one fine ruby-colored tea!" Liz chirped.

"Now, Liz! You know the only thing I can really cook in this world is meat! I really don't understand why that is, but I guess I just happen to understand the importance of protein." Professor Cierra chuckled heartily.

"Then what is it?" Liz asked.

"It's just that experiment I was talking about earlier" Professor Cierra explained. "Don't drink it. According to its current condition, I'd say it's some sort of Love Potion now. How exactly it'll affect the drinker, on the other hand, is unpredictable at the moment. "

"Love Potion? Are you serious?" Liz exclaimed. "And why are you an expert on this kind of stuff? You sound like some Witch trying to work her crazy voodoo magic over a couldron!"

"Magic? Oh puh-leaze! You know as a follower of logic that I cannot acknowledge such nonsense! My knowledge of such things stems from the brittle connection between Later Alchemy and True Early Science!" she explained.

"If you didn't realize already, there are already plenty of chemicals in the physical world that stimulate emotions and sensations! Like alchohol and drugs that serve to stimulate certain "pleasures", or steroids that serve as irritants! There are even things called "aphrodesiacs" that stimulate... well, special desires! In any case, emotions do not escape the realm and rules of science! Even an emotion as complicated as "love" can be influenced by the right chemicals!" she proclaimed.

"I see..." Liz answered in fascination. "But you know, maybe bringing up this kind of thing to the scientific community could spark just the kind of commotion you need!"

Professor Cierra shook her head. "Nah, we knew about the existance of Love Potions for awhile now. My Secret Science society is just trying to keep the knowledge of such a thing under wraps for morality purposes."

"Really?" Liz said curiously. She thought to quietly to herself for awhile until a sudden thought came to mind.

"Say, Cierra! I know your society's concerned about the forbideen secrets of human knowledge, but could you whip me up a special potion to help out with a relationship? Micheal and I have started hitting it off lately, but he needs a little coaxing, so--"

"No!" Cierra aprubtly answered. "No offense. We'll always be good friends and everything, but I just can't allow that kind of Science to be used wrecklessly. Anyway, I gotta go get the final component for my substance!" she proclaimed as she marched off towards the exit.

Liz then looked at the chemistry set for a moment.

"I better get breakfast started soon. I guess I could just let Nina clean this up when Cierra's done." she said to herself as headed towards the pots and pans.

Meanwhile, Professor Cierra took her first step out the door, only to find a small white cat with big blue eyes.

"Awww... what a cute little kitty!" she fawned as she picked up the kitten and gently stroked it. The cat purred affectionatley in response.

"And such a precious white coat, too! But it doesn't seem to have any signs of ownership. Poor thing... I know! I'll name you Gateau! How do you like that name you little cutie?" she said as she softly rubbed its head.

As she spent countless minutes doting on the cute white cat, Professor Cierra had "conveniently" blocked out all other thoughts in her mind.

"Wait a minute! I was just about to do something just a moment ago! Now, what was it? Hmmm..."

Before she could recall the task at hand, a simple mew from the happy kitten caught her attention once more. She could not help but be drawn into its big, blue eyes once again.

"Well now, I can't just leave this poor thing alone! I know! Liz told me that they take care of animals at the Blue Sky Ranch! One of the residents is supposed be this caring young lady named Ellen! I bet she'll know what to do!" she exclaimed.

Cierra then scanned the Village in search of her new destination, and found some big barn doors beyond the trees to the north. "Okay little buddy, we're off to see Auntie Ellen's! You better behave yourself when we're there!" she suggested as she headed towards Duck Bridge.

"Strange. For some reason, having this addorable kitty at my side is making me think of Rothe for some reason. Where in the village is that pupil of mine, anyway?" she asked herself.

Upon hearing this, titled its head sideways in curiosity.

"Nya?"

Back at the Spring Farm, Ray had just made his way towards the doorstep.

"Well, here I am. For some reason, Liz strongly insisted that I have breakfast here today. She probably expects me to continue my tour with Cierra as soon as we're done eating. Unfortunatley, I haven't seen Rothe at all since yesterday, but I can understand why." he grumbled to himself.

Ray gave one big sigh before opening the fateful door once again.

"Cierra's really creepy!" he thought to himself.

Luckily, the fisherman didn't feel the crazed Professor's presence within the Spring Farm shop, but he was greeted to some interesting scents coming from the kitchen, along with a certain pink-haired young lady in a puffy white dress.

"Hello, Nina." Ray greeted casually, "I've come to have breakfast as your Mother asked, but is Miss Cierra around?"

"No. Auntie Cierra left some time ago. But it was nice of you to ask!" she answered in a calm, yet cheerful tone.

Ray gazed curiously at the girlish Nina.

"Interesting. Nina and Jill actually have quite a bit in common. Sure, Jill happens to be more on the boyish side, and way more affectionate, but they both share plenty of qualities, especially an endeering naievete. Still, I haven't seen Jill as much since I started painting. She's starting to worry me now..." he thought to himself.

Nina looked at the fisherman curiously, noticing that he seemed to be out of it. "Hey, Uncle Ray! Uncle Ray! Do you want your breakfast now?" she asked as she waved her hand in front of the concerned fisherman.

"Wha-huh? Right, right. Yes, that would be much appreciated. Just get me some tea for now. I think I should make my way out as soon as possible" he answered in a slightly panicked tone.

Nina responded with a giggle. "You're so silly, Uncle Ray!" she cried as she head into the kitchen. "It'll only take just a minute!" she promised.

Ray's eyes followed Nina into the kitchen at back. "If I recall correctly, Jill and Nina are really good friends, so maybe I could find out what's going on through her..." he speculated.

He then found himself blushing as he focused his eyes on her happy expression. "I have to admit, Liz raised a fine daughter. She's really well-behaved, but she's lost none of her youthful charm" he grinned. He then gagged upon thinking this.

"N-no... just stop there. I don't want to turn into some perverted pedophile now... it'll just lead to more problems!" he thought in panic.

In the kitchen, Liz was too busy cooking up breakfast to pay attention to Nina, so the perky country girl wasn't halted as she spotted the numerous beakers, along with the bubbling ruby substance in a bottle.

"Ooohh... what's this? Did Mom brew a new tea? It looks so good, but I've never seen anything like it! Oh, I hope Mom doesn't mind if Uncle Ray tries , but I'm sure she'll be happy to hear what he has to say about it! Mom's always been good at making things, so I have absolute confidence that Uncle Ray will like it! He looks really thirsty, anyway!" she reasoned.

Liz then took a small tea cup from a dish pantry and carefully poured in the scintilating ruby liquid. She then placed it on a saucer and small tray, and immediatley went to the front to see Ray again.

"Here ya go, Uncle Ray! I'm not quite sure what kind it is, but I think it's a new blend! It's kinda chilly at the moment, but go ahead and try!" she told Ray as she handed her the tea try.

"Thanks, Nina. Don't worry, your Mom always seems to come up with the best recipes when she experiments." she assured the young lady.

The thirsty fisherman then took one faithful sip of Cierra's potion, but was mirraculously unnafected by its properties.

"It takes kind of like... some honeyed Egg Nog. It's really good, actually!" he exclaimed as he continued to sip his "Ruby Tea".

However, standing not too far away was an anxious Nina, whose girlish face became completly flushed...

_Author's Notes: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! I'VE DONE IT! I'VE FINALLY DONE IT! After two-three weeks of hiatus, RAY HAS FINALLY DRANK THE POTION THAT SHALL SEAL HIS FATE! Now the REAL fun can begin! (Although, knowing me, it'll probably only last a few chapters, but whatever. I'm not good at continuing a 30 Chapter story, but I'm much better at connecting a bunch of seperate short stories into one big story arc/saga.) I guess, in this upcoming madness, people will finally know who it is Ray will end up with. You never know, I changed the relationship in "The Doctor Is In", so I just might change it here. Or I could be messing with your minds. Still, I could have Ray hook up with Jill, leaving poor Jamie high and dry to mope incesently for the rest of his life. Why? Because all their fates are in my hands! Rock the Ray X Jill X Jamie Love Trinagle!_

_Anyway, _

_**Jenvaati & Young Roy**- The Dolphin? Are you people serious? An UNREQUITED LOVE for a DOLPHIN? That's ridiculous! The Dolphin KNOWS he's loved by the Master Fisherman! And they take care of each other really well! There's no doubt about that! But seriously... why couldn't you guys think the Dolphin likes Gwen? Or Jamie for that matter? Jamie goes to the island, too! And well, Gwen's just hot. Dolphins dig hot chicks too! Just like how chicks dig Giant Robots!_

_**goddesskali**- I know you haven't reviewed any of my stories, and you'll probably never will, but let me just say that I've really enjoyed your "Ice Blue" series so far! If it hadn't seen this amazing take on Jamie, I probably never would have started the "Jill X Jamie" Scenerio I started back at the end of "Revelations"! Thanks again for the inspiration, and I'll patiently await further segments of your work! _

_**kelley28**- One of my first reviewers, if I'm not mistaken! Anyway, I haven't seen this one around in the longest time, but I'm thankful for your first critique! I don't know when you'll be active again, but I can't wait to see how "Secrets and Roses" ends! I wanna see who's been terrorizing Jack! And Mary in a blue dress? Priceless! (awww...) I hope you've decided to read this inane story, too!_


	6. Charms of a Batchelor

**Chapter 5**

After finishing his cup of enchanted "Ruby Tea", a quenched Ray carefully passed his cup and saucer back to Nina.

"It's delicious! Give my compliments to your Mom for me, Nina! Tell me when she comes up with a name for this tea!" he grinned.

The blushing young girl graciously accepted the dishes and carefully placed them aside.

"T-thank you... I'll be sure to tell her as soon as I can!" she said in awe.

Ray blinked rapidly as he spotted Nina's sudden expression change. He was hopelessly confused as to what was going on. "Uh, Nina... do you have a fever or something? You look like you're burning..." he said as he placed a hand on her Nina's forehead.

Upon contact, the afflicted Nina felt as if she were melting.

"Well... you're temperature's not too bad, but you look like you're about to faint. Maybe you've tired and overworked yourself in the course of helping out your dear Mom. Please try to get some sleep, and you should feel just fine!" Ray suggested. "I'm sorry I have to leave so sudden, but I have some more things to do, and people to see!"

"And hopefully... I'll be able to avoid another session of insanity with Cierra in the process!" he thought.

Just when the fisherman was about to leave the Spring Farm, he felt something wrap around his right arm. He turned around and saw the little farm girl snuggling up to him.

"Please... don't go..." she begged as she swooned.

At this moment, if this were a blushing contest, Ray would've outdone Nina by a mile.

"N-N-N-N-N-N-Nina! What are you doing?" he stammered.

"Please stay for breakfast..." she continued pleading, "I'd really enjoy your company... even if for just a little longer..."

"AAAAAGGHHH!" Ray screamed. For some reason, Liz was unable to hear it.

After Nina begged and pleaded the nervous fisherman for an extensive amount of time, Ray was finally able to shake her off and made a mad dash out of the Spring Farm.

The mysteriously love-stricken Nina rushed outside the door and vigorously looked from side to side, but she was too late.

"Awwww... where did he go?" Nina moaned. She then wandered off aimlessly with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Meanwhile, a panicked Ray sprinted into the woods with his sudden fear of the opposite sex flooding his senses.

"I know JILL tends to over affectionate, but even SHE didn't hug me like THAT! What's gotten into Nina to make her act all crazy?" he pondered.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for him to run into yet another problem.

"Ugh! Watch where you're goi---"

"Gwen?" Ray cried.

Sitting on the ground right in front of him was a young lady with a blonde ponytail and spirited red eyes. She wore a blue jean vest over a blank white shirt, and a matching jean skirt over some tight black pants.

The two friends exchanged awkward glances for a brief moment. Then, in a bizarre, desperate act of relief, an overjoyed Ray leapt on the talented cook, whose formerly unnoticed blushing grew to encompass her entire face.

"Gwen! I'm glad to see you! Nina's acting strange lately, and our new visitor Cierra is a lunatic Scientist with dangerous hobbies! You gotta help me! You've been good at helping me before!" Ray panicked.

Gwen's sullen mouth suddenly changed into a wide smile.

"Is that so? Well, that's nice to hear. To be perfectly honest, I'm just happy to have run into you, myself!" she answered in awe.

"Uh... right..." Ray answered with unease. "Anyway, you have to hide me! Everyone has caught on to nearly all my fishing spots, and most people hear are friendly enough to help search me out! You're the best hope I have!" he shouted.

"Why don't you just go to the island?" Gwen suggested.

Ray pondered over Gwen's words for awhile, until he realized just how helpful they were.

"Of course! Why didn't I think of it before? We only have one Dolphin near the village, and nobody's bothered to build a boat! And most of all, there are only five of us in the village who know about that island, and I'm pretty sure Jack and Jamie won't tell anybody about that place! It's perfect!" he shouted.

A very thankful Ray shook Gwen's hand vigorously before sneaking off towards the peer.

"Uh... Ray... do you mind if I join you?" Gwen softly asked.

"Sure, it's fine. Having a good friend to talk to should keep my mind off of the sudden madness, anyway." Ray grinned.

"Thank you..." Gwen answered pleasantly.

With the revealing rays of sunlight shining across the land, the covert couple had to be careful in reaching the peer. Unfortunately for Ray, Gwen's newfound emotions couldn't hold out any longer...

"You know what? When we finally reach the island, how about you catch us a few fish so I can whip us some dinner?" suggested in a chipper tone.

"Why not? I've been curious about some of the new dishes you've been cooking up lately. It would be nice to have a fresh meal made by your hands!" Ray grinned.

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Yay!" Gwen exclaimed in unnatural bliss.

Ray gulped. "Something doesn't feel right..." he thought to himself.

A weary Ray cautiously turned his head in fear of an incoming ambush by either Nina or Cierra, while Gwen looked perfectly content to be by the fisherman's side.

"While we're at it... I might as well whip up something special just for the two of us..." Gwen said sweetly.

"Really? That sounds nice! What do you have in mind?" Ray asked curiously, while still looking out for the crazy people.

"Mmmmm... I don't know... I'm not quite sure what would make the perfect fish for a special occasion... I was thinking maybe the expert would know." Gwen said.

"Okay then, leave it to me. I'm sure there'll be something out in the sea that'll pleasure our taste buds." Ray assured her.

"I trust you." Gwen grinned. "Besides, I'm sure a fish prepared by both our efforts will be special, regardless..."

"My sentiments exactly!" Ray exclaimed, while still wearing cautious eyes. "There's nothing like a meal created through the bonds of a strong friendship!"

For just one shining moment, Ray was looking forward to reaching that lone island in order to escape the madness that entered his life, until he felt a small tug at his arm.

"Yep... Just the two of us... alone on an island... it'll be perfect..." Gwen said dreamily as she clung onto Ray's arm.

When Ray saw this, Ray finally realized that whatever hit Nina with her sudden infatuation just affected Gwen too. In response to this, Ray's face turned bright red once more, and shook off a blissful Gwen as he was on the run yet again.

"WAIT! RAY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING! I THOUGHT WE'D BE GOING TO THE ISLAND SO WE WOULD BE ALONE! WHAT'S WRONG?" she cried as she tried to catch Ray.

Amazingly, despite Gwen's perfect athletic health, her infatuated self could not catch up to the Mach 5 speed of a fearful Ray.

"...G-Gwen too..." Ray uttered in panic. He turned his head briefly to see Gwen's yearning eyes, then faced forward again as he made his escape while feeling his pounding chest.

"...Why did I have that sudden thought in my mind?" he thought to himself.

In the midst of his panic, Ray somehow eluded Gwen with a twisting and turning running patern before sprinting back towards Duck Bridge, but his troubles were still far from over.

"Ohh... Please be gentler!" a feminine voice cried.

Ray leapt up and saw that he had bumped into another lady with blonde hair and red eyes. However, this time her hair was fluffed up a bit, and her white top and flowing pink dress were far more feminine than Gwen's attire.

"Eve?" Ray cried.

"Oh, it's the Master Fisherman" she answered in a pleasant tone.

"What are you doing out here? Don't you usually stay with Duke until the bar opens?" he asked.

"Not all the time. There are days where I enjoy taking a stroll along the village on my day off, hon" he she casually answered.

For some reason, yet another light flickered in Ray's mind.

"Wait a minute... this is could be good! Eve's too much of a casual flirt to become spontaneously over affectionate! SHE could help me out!" he inexplicably thought.

"Actually, I'm glad to run into you! You see, Nina and Gwen went crazy on me for some reason, while our new visitor might be out hunting me so she can use me for her twisted purpose! You gotta hide me quickly!" Ray shouted.

"Nina and Gwen, huh? Maybe the women are starting to warm up to you. I hope this dies down quickly, otherwise I could get jealous" she slyly remarked with a chuckle. "Don't worry. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure I can convince Uncle Duke to keep you at the Moonlight Cafe until the coast is---"

As soon as the belle of Flower Bud Village made direct eye contact with Ray, she too could not resist the spell surrounding Ray.

"Clear..." she finished breathlessly.

"Really? Oh good! Hurry up and let me in the Cafe then!" Ray demanded.

"No, hold on... I have a better idea..." Eve interjected. "How about heading to the Goddess Spring instead? Rarely anyone in the village actually heads in there. You could even ask the Harvest Goddess to help you with your little... problem..." she explained in a soft voice.

"You're right! Man, why didn't I think of THAT, too? I must really suck at coming up with good ideas when I'm on the run like this?" Ray exclaimed.

"Thanks Eve! Now I'm sure I can end this madness once and for all!" he cried as he was about to sprint towards Mt. Moon, but he felt yet another tug on his arm.

"Wait a minute. How about I join? For, you know... security reasons. You never know when one of these crazies might decide to take a hike in Mt. Moon. They might keep you from reaching the Goddess!" she suggested desperately.

Ray groaned. "Of course! That Mad Scientist Cierra might be picking some more herbs for her crazy experiments! I could really use a lookout for that purpose! Thanks again, Eve!"

"Good!" she grinned.

So then the desperate pair was about to head off to the Goddess Spring when Ray suddenly realized Eve's sudden behavior felt disturbingly familiar.

""Eve?" Ray called reluctantly.

"Yes, Ray?" Eve answered back as she gazed straight into his eyes once more.

Sure enough, the outgoing Eve wasn't making her usual, confident, engaging expressions. Instead, she had big puppy eyes, and a smile that was way too innocent.

"Not again..." Ray whined regretfully.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ray screamed at the top of his legs as he ran past the Blue Sky farm to make yet another desperate escape, with Gwen not too far behind.

"RAY! WAIT! WHAT ABOUT THE GODDESS SPRING? WE CAN BOTH BE SAFE THERE TOGETHER!" Eve cried.

At that moment, Ray was feeling a whole lot of regret for a desire he had long ago.

"I wish I never wanted Doctor Alex's Charisma!" he thought as he sobbed fearfully.

Back at the Blue Sky Ranch, Professor Cierra waved goodbye as she carried the white cat out the door.

"Thanks for your help, Ellen! It was a pleasure to meet you!" she cried.

"You're welcome! I'm just glad that cat finally has a caretaker!" a sweet voice called back.

Cierra then carefully closed the door as she walked around with her new pet.

"So, this poor kitty is a stray, after all! Well, no more! From now on, you're sticking with me, Little Gateau! You understand?" she said in a cute voice.

The little white cat mewed happily as it waved its tail back and forth like a metronome.

"Oooh... I'd just knew you'd be happy to hear the good news!" Cierra smiled. She then tried to recall some past business she wanted to take care off.

"Now... wasn't there something I felt was urgent to finish?" she said to herself. Again, Cierra was interrupted by Gateau's happy mewing.

"Oh, right! Ellen told me that you were a fond acquaintance of Rothe, right? Do you think you could maybe lead me to her new home?" she asked Gateau in a friendly tone.

Again, the white cat tilted its fluffy head curiously. "Nya?"

Cierra gazed into its big blue eyes for awhile before coming up with a conclusion.

"Ah, of course not..." she sighed in disappointment. "You've probably seen Rothe in so many places, you might not know which spot would be her home, huh?"

Gateau mewed cheerfully in response.

"Yeah, you're right. Geez... it's times like this I wish cats had a tracking nose like dogs do..." Cierra sighed.

"Nya!" Gateau cried without a care in the world.

"Right, Gateau! I just can't let something like that get me down! I'll find Rothe on my own eventually! In the mean time, how about I check out that snazzy gift shop I passed on the way here? I remembered whafting some marvelous perfumes I could use to fix myself up!" Cierra chirped.

With a new purpose in mind, and her newly-dubbed cat in hand, Cierra headed off towards the Hearty Lyla.

_Author's Notes: Hmm... What could Ray have been thinking as he turned to see Gwen again? Interesting... anyway, after writing that brief exchange between Ray and Gwen, I'd actually think the two would make a good couple! There's a chance I might continue this fic with that thought in mind... probably... Anyway, now it makes me yearn to see some Ray X Gwen fanfiction! C'mon people! Inspire Chicken Yuki to continue his writing career by mixing and matching Magical Melody couples! Give me a Ray X Gwen fic to work with! Seriously! Gwen X Bob? You have to admit seeing the cooking hottie with a Master Fisherman could set up an interesting atmosphere! Or... I could just do one myself... or turn this into a Ray X Gwen fic... whatever..._

_Anyway, random fact: Eve has her own fanclub in the GameFAQs forum with a decent membership count. On the other hand, not so many people have recently wrote or even SPOKE about "Magical Melody" Eve in any form. I find this interesting. Perhaps Gwen has a much bigger fan following..._

_...Uh, Go Lyla! And her Pumpkin Fetish!_


	7. Charms of a Traveller

**Chapter 6**

_Added Disclaimer: Harvest Moon is the property of Natsume. I also do not own Riviera: The Promised Land, Mahoraba, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic The Hedgehog, ninja in general, or Animal Crosssing. Why did I mention all of this? It's because there's one particular character in this Chapter that's seen it all. _

_Fun Fact: Mahoraba is a property of Akira Kojima and Square Enix. Just because both Kojima-sensei and Square Enix rules! _

In the popular hangout known as Cafe Callaway, two customers were chowing down on snacks and tea while its owner, a young man with dirty blonde hair with a fancy black and white outfit, waited patiently behind the desk to offer more service.

One was a cheerful young man wearing a backwards blue cap with a yellow rim with blue overalls and a red bandana. Two tufts of brown hair stuck out of the hole in his cap, and his big blue eyes spied gazed at his cheesecake hungrily.

The other was a young lady with short red hair and and narrow, observant ice blue eyes. She took a few sips of herb tea before proceeding to stare aimlessly around the shop.

"Well, I have to admit, it's nice being able to see you out of season again, Nami!" the cheerful young farmer cried.

"Yeah, sure... the weather station in the city decided to give me mini-vacation, so I decided to spend it here... although I don't understand why I constantly end up spending it with you, Jack." the young girl answered.

"I guess... it's because I'm the only one willing to take time off for your sake!" Jack grinned.

"...Thanks, I guess..." Nami said hesitantly.

Jack took a few helpings off his cheesecake in thorough satisfaction before giving the onwer a thumbs up.

"Your cheesecake is still as good as ever, Carl!" Jack cheered.

The owner waved back. "That's good to hear! I'm glad my treats aren't becoming tiresome, yet!" he called back.

"Like they ever could!" Jack cried.

He then faced Nami again after having a few sips of his own tea.

"You had an interesting point earlier, though. Why do you constantly end up spending time in this village, anyway? Wouldn't it be nice to see Mineral Town once in awhile? I know you've seen it once in your life, so you must know what they have to offer! Heck, the Winery, the Supermarket, and the Chicken Farm were nice places to go when I went there!" Jack blathered.

But Nami gave Jack a suspicious glare and said nothing.

"Of course, a place that would be of greatest interest to you would be the Inn, wouldn't it?" Jack continued in a suggestive tone.

Nami's frustration intensified upon hearing this comment.

"You know, the food over there is great, too! It makes me wonder why they didnt' send their cook over for the Harvest Chef competition instead? Then again, it would get confusing, considering some of the identical people between here and there... and then there's the fact that the owner's daughter annoyed the heck out of me to no end when we were kids... man did I hate her! The last time I visited my cousin Sack, she STILL annoys me!" Jack commented.

Nami gazed skeptically at the disgruntled farmer.

"Quit trying to beat around the bush. You're trying to bring up something REALLY important, aren't you?" Nami asked.

"Curse her! Why does she always follow me to the hot springs! Is she trying to get in her perverted kicks while torturing me in the nude? Why can't she just ignore me during my visits and--- huh? Oh, right. What were we talking about?" Jack answered innocently.

Nami blinked a few times in disbelief. "...Agh... Quit trying to bring him up! I'm never going back to Mineral Town unless I feel like it!" she growled.

"Who? Cliff?" Jack answered casually.

Nami slapped her head.

"Hey, it was your fault you assumed this was about him. But anyway, since you insist, where did you with Cliff at your side, anyway? All I got so far was a few of the adventures the two of you shared with Ray, and then the part where the fisherman bailed. Now, that'll probably be enough to satisfy Karen, but I'm a little curious as to how Cliff ended up at Mineral Town in the first place!" Jack insisted on knowing.

Nami carefully looked around the Cafe just to make sure nobody else was around. She then sighed. "Okay, fine. As long as it's just between the two of us. I really don't understand why, but I respect you enough to trust you."

Jack shrugged. "Hey, at least you're not as difficult as Jamie can be." he grinned.

"True. That rancher finally came around latley, but I must admit that he still problems..." Nami added with a nod.

"Okay, sometime after Ray left our company, Cliff and I suddenly felt like we had more freedom in our travels. There were some pretty interesting places we travelled to.

Our most immediate stop was New Hyrule Town, where we saw this big castle that was miraculously preserved. Everybody was dressed in clothes from older times, so it looked llike this really big rennisance faire. In case you'd be interested, this place had a few farming establishments of its own, including the Lon Lon Ranch and a hen coup run by this nice lady named Anju. Although for some reason, their native word for "chicken" is "cucco". The castle itself had all these really ornate halls, including a few, somehow misplaced paintings. What was really amusing is that Cliff took a liking to the milk vendor, Malon."

Jack noticed a mischevious grin come out of Nami. "Wait a minute. Was Nami actually about to giggle?" he thought to himself in disbelief.

"It was a shame how that one turned out, but us travellers still had places to go back then.

Next we travelled through a bunch of towns with what I believe were inhabitted by... talking... animals. That included this one riverside town called Niwatori with this big green chicken called Hank. He really liked boasting about athletics, and doing morning aerobics in the Summer for some reason. Nonetheless, it was starting to make the two of us feel uncomfortable since we weren't used to that kind of thing. Sure, there was this goat that was nice enough to treat us to a meal, but seeing her on her hind legs while wearing a red dress with blue flames was really starting scare me. Unlike myself, my partner Cliff really enjoyed their company. He was always strange like that...

All that time, I was reminded of this rumor I once heard of a floating island with a lot of exotic places, but I heard there was a talking red echidna that resided there, so I decided not to go.

From there, Cliff and I managed to raise enough money to take a cruise to Japan. The sight of the blue ocean was enchanting, and Cliff couldn't agree with me more. After finally landing, we made our way through a few of the must-see tourist spots, but the both of us decided to avoid some of the more Anime-oriented places. Mostly, it was because Cliff doesn't like dealing with so many people at once, and I just have this strong aversion to "otaku".

Eventually, we came across this old-style appartment complex that was somehow distanced from most of society. I would've been more than happy to settle here for awhile, but the place was filled with a bunch of kooks. The landlady was pretty young for being its owner, and seemed nurturing at first, but then after finding out she had five different personalities, it starting going downhill from there. That, and there was this creepy chick with brown hair that always looked like she was scheming, this overzealous pink-haired girl with glasses, a chronically depressed mother and her cheerful daughter, and a middle-aged man who always speaks throug his puppet dog. I'm not sure how long we would've been able to handle staying there with that kind of company. The girl with the glasses said they had another tennant who was at art school at the moment. She claimed he was the most "normal" of them all, but we didn't bother sticking around to find out..."

Nami paused for a moment. "Hmmm... Liz, Nina, Popuri, and this Momono Megumi chick... where are all these pink-haired weirdoes coming from?" she thought to herself.

"The tennants sound familiar... and the descruption of the coplex... hey, wait a minute! That sounds like the Narutaki place that my Japanese penpal told me he was living! Speaking of which, I wonder just how my buddy Ryushi is holding out? It must not be easy living in that nuthouse..."

Nami coughed before going on. "So, after leaving that place, we visisted a few more shrines, tofu shops and bookstores. We even had something called "okonomiake" along with some sake--"

Jack snickered. "She made a rhyme!" he thought in thorough amusment.

"--And I have to say that that pizza-like stuff was pretty good. Anyway, after mirraculously running into half-a-dozen hidden ninja villages and numerous plushie-like alien races claiming they want to take over the world, we took yet another boat that headed towards the Isle of Riviera.

Now, I was really impressed with New Hyrule's history, but this place had a lot going for it! There was a village that made ample use of the treetops, an inner island with this towering gothic castle, some aged swamp ruins with plenty of wildlife to observe, and even a spooky underground cemetary. Yeah, Cliff was scared of a whole lot of things on Riviera, but it didn't bother me that much."

Jack observed Nami's face carefully. "Yep, according to her perfect poker face, she's telling the truth. Not like an underground cemetary scares everybody..." he thought.

"Come to think of it, I think I saw a woman with long red hair hanging out in the swamp ruins. She looked a lot like our new visitor, if I'm not mistaken..." Nami voiced out loud.

Jack nodded. "Probably. I could've sworn I heard her talking about it when I went to Liz' the other day. I also remember Basil talking about a place called Teyth, and his description matched up with the stranger's. Maybe the two know eachother somehow?"

"Perhpas..." Nami answered. "...Well, after leaving Riviera, we came back to this continent and saw a few more sights and ruins. Eventually, along the course of our travels, we happened upon Mineral Town, where we met Karen along witih a few other locals. I was relieved to see there weren't any talking animals, but I heard about this place called Forget-Me-Not Valley with its very own dig site. I was interested in seeing what more it had to offer, but Cliff became attached to Mineral Town. That was when we finally decided to split up..."

Nami suddenly had a regretful look in her eyes.

"...Wow... this is the longest time I've ever heard you talk... about anything!" Jack exclaimed in amazement.

"Really? Is that a record for me?" Nami asked curiously.

Suddenly, the pair of friends heard a really big scream come from outside.

"WAIT! RAY! WHY WON'T YOU JOIN ME IN THE KITCHEN AND LET ME MAKE YOU SOMETHING SPECIAL! I PROMISE IT'LL BE FUN!" a high-pitched female voice cried.

Jack and Nami looked outside to see a frightened Ray chased off by a blushing Katie.

The barely sociable Nai took a quick glance at the frightened fisherman's face, and felt her heart pound immediatley. This brought immediate attention to Jack.

"Nami? Are you feeling alright?" Jack asked in deep concern.

The red-haired traveller cautiously took a seat at the nearest seat and breathed hard.

"Why... does this always have to be so hard for me?" she barely uttered under her breath.

"Eh... you don't look so good. Do you mind if I get you a drink of water?" Jack asked.

Nami nodded. "Thank you. That could help."

Jack nodded back. "Okay then." He then turned to the counter.

"Carl! Can you whip up a glass of water?" Jack asked while heading towards the register.

"I'm on it!" Carl announced as he rushed into the kitchen for another cup.

Meanwhile, Nami focused an intense gaze at a blank wall. Various thoughts filled her mind with unease.

She found herself nearly out of breath as she tried to calm herself down. Steadily, she reached for a secret locket underneath her yellow shirt and opened it up to see a quality picture of herself barely smiling with an overjoyed Cliff beside her.

"I can't believe I'm going to admit this to myself after all this time, but I actually miss Cliff..." she thought to herself.

_Author's Notes: Yeah, you heard right. Jack despies Mineral Town's Ann! You got a problem with that? Just so you know, whenever you see both Jack and Nami together in my fanfics, it's almost guarenteed that they'll start a filler eppisode that explains little vignettes of Nami's past. That, and it gives me the perfect excuse to make Nami more talkative than usual. _

_But seriously, Nami X Cliff? I personally think this has some awesome potentiel behind it... if only there are plenty of people that agreed! I would really appreciate hearing how that could work out! _

_...and now, onto Chapter 7! Finally, Rothe will make a much needed return back into the fray! _


	8. Charms of Hope

**Chapter 7 **

In his last act of desperation, the frenzied Ray sprinted all the way to Flower Bud Point, to the place where he believed would be his last chance at Sanctuary.

As the young fisherman neared his friend's house, he forced his feet to skid a few yards in order to halt his incredible speed. He then took a few careful steps and started pounding on the door.

"ROTHE! PLEASE OPEN UP!" he cried desperatley.

In a mere moments, the blazer-wearing city girl opened up the door to see Ray, saturated in panic sweat, and completly out of breath.

"Okay, geez! You don't have to make a commotion!" Rothe grumbled.

She then shot an agitated glare deep into Ray's relieved eyes, but upon doing this, a new sensation surged through her body as her heart harshly pounded. Finally, her own eyes widened to enormous proportions.

For a long time, the two friends exchanged awkward glances. Finally, Rothe acted fiercely...

...With a door slam to the face.

This peculiar action left Ray staring blankly at the closed door.

"That was strange..." Ray thought to himself.

"OPEN UP! PLEASE, I BEG YOU!" Ray pleaded.

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Rothe shouted from behind the door.

"WHAT THE? PLEASE! JUST LET ME IN!"

"NO WAY! PROFESSOR CIERRA PUT YOU UP TO THIS, DIDN'T SHE?"

"NO! THE OTHER GIRLS IN THIS VILLAGE ARE GOING INSANE!"

"YOU'RE NOT FOOLING ME!"

"WHAT!"

"GIVE UP! SHE'S USING YOU AS A PLOY TO BRING ME OUT OF HIDING, ISN'T SHE?"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?"

"IT'S NO USE! I CAN TELL WHEN THAT NUT JOB MESSED WITH SOMEBODY! THERE'S NO WAY THAT SHE'S TAKING ME AGAIN!"

"SERIOUSLY?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Ray scratched his head, completly unsure what to do now. His last hope was utterly dashed, since there was nowhere else he could turn to flee from the many young ladies that took a sudden interest in him. His new plight and his knowledge that Rothe too had suffered from one of Professor Cierra's various experiments allowed him to symphasize with the paranoid city girl. Although dejected, the fisherman felt that Rothe deserved what little sense of peace remained in his good friend's mind, and pray that Cierra won't victimize her again.

"...Okay, fine. You know what? I'm just going to trap myself on the island so no one can get to me until this bizarre curse wears off. Don't mind me. There's plenty of fish at sea, and I can survive without human contact for months. Just don't go near Mt. Moon for the rest of the week, because Cierra really likes that place. Well, goodbye..."

Ray then turned away while formulating a plan to reach the dolphin by the peer without bringing attention to himself, but just as he took his tenth step from the house, the door swung open again. The curious fisherman turned to see an embarassed Rothe standing right at the doorway. For a moment, both friends exchanged uncertain glances until Rothe nodded her head.

"You're in one heck of a crisis, aren't you?" Rothe called out in a sympathetic tone.

Ray nodded. "You don't know the half of it."

"The half of it? You don't even know the tenth of it!" Rothe exclaimed. "Go ahead and get in. Who knows when havoc will strike again with that nutjob professor around!"

With that said, the shaky pair threw themselves into the house, with Rothe slamming the door right behind them.

After that, Rothe went to the refridgerator and took out a bottle of Grape Juice. She then took some near by glasses and poured in a great portion for both her and her guest, and handed a glass to her parched partner.

"So... exactly what's been going on with you lately?" Rothe asked as she coolly sipped her Grape Juice.

The exausted fisherman took a moment to catch his breath before explaining himself. "Well, it started out as a good day. Liz invited me to a morning breakfast, but I only wanted to have a cup of tea so I wouldn't have to worry about Cierra dragging me around town to show her everything. Anyway, Nina came downstairs and accepted my request, and she returned with this bubbling Ruby colored Tea her mother made. It was actually pretty good, but then when I praised the tea, Nina became unusually clingy on me. In fact, every woman since then had that reaction whenever they saw me..."

He then gaze carefully at Rothe, who shot back an offended glare. "What? Is there something funny on my face?" she asked. Despite her normal reaction, her body shook again.

"N-no... I was just thinking... you're a woman, too! Why aren't you going crazy?" he asked.

"What? Are you serious? You think I'd fall under the same influences affecting the other girls around here?". Rothe scoffed. "Anyway, you said something about drinking a Ruby Tea, right? Was there something out of the ordinary about it?"

Ray thought long and hard about what he believed to be Liz's creation before he could give a proper answer. "Well, it was pretty cool for a bubbling tea, and it gave off this drooping pink smoke. It also tasted a little like Egg Nog, but it was really tasty." he explained.

It was then Rothe's turn to think long and hard before nodding in response. "Pink smoke? Bubbling cold tea? C'mon! Isn't it obvious? That HAD to be one of Professor Cierra's crazy experiments! And the women must be acting strange because you drank that substance!" she cried.

Ray laughed alloud bashfully. "Really? Wow... I have a really hard time catching on to these kind of things."

Rothe gazed at him in disbelief. "...Y'know, sometimes... you're much worse than Ein... at the very least, you're not a consistent pervert" she groaned.

"...You never told me your friend was a pervert..." Ray stated frankly.

"Right... Moving on, this is clearly the result of Professor Cierra's expermintations." Rothe answered. "And since that's case, I guess my lack of love-sickness is due to my numerous exposures to Cierra's potions..."

"Hmmm... now that she mentioned it, that would explain why she was looking for special herbs atop Mt. Moon yesterday." Ray thought to herself. "Interesting that the Blue Mist Flower can be used for a love potion like this..."

Ray then shot Rothe a curious glance. "Wait! Did you just say that Cierra fed you a bunch of her experimental potions?" she asked.

Rothe nodded with a look of dread in her eyes. "So many adverse effects... so many crazy moments... it all gives me the creeps, even to this day..." she moaned.

Ray blinked. "Sounds like she put you through a lot then, huh?" he said while chuckling nervously.

"...Yes..." Rothe stated. "To be honest, your misadventure today reminds me of one of the many things her potions did to me..."

"Really? Do tell." Ray insisted.

"...Do you really want to know?" Rothe asked with blushing cheeks.

"... Oh... it's that bad?" Ray asked.

Rothe sighed as Ray looked back with a somber gaze.

"Ah, whatever... just don't say anything, okay?" Rothe pleaded.

Ray nodded silently.

"Okay..." Rothe gulped. "There this one potion that Professor Cierra shoved down my throat... and well, my friend Ein happened to be in the same room that day, and then...and then"

Rothe started to babble incoherently since she was far too embarassed to effectively communicate the rest of the story.

"Ah... what was that last part?" Ray asked.

Rothe's mouth quivered before she swallowed hard. "I made eye contact with Ein, and although I can't really recall what happened after that... I think I might've become a bit too... "attached" to him for awhile..."

"You mean... it was possible that Cierra forced you to chug a Love Potion?" Ray asked quietly.

Rothe nodded slowly. "Ein told me about the whole thing... and I've been recalling some... memories I'm regretting..."

"So... does this mean your friend actually knows about your feelings?" Ray asked nonchalantly.

"No! Ein's seen what Cierra's experiments are capable of! He just accepted whatever came over me as a result of that potion! Which was true, anyway!" Rothe exclaimed, with a hint of relief in her voice.

"Yeah, I suppose it was..." Ray nodded in agreement.

"Of course, I've had stranger things happen to me thanks to thosepotions." Rothe added.

"If that was true, why couldn't you have just something about those instead?" Ray asked.

Rothe stared back in amazement. She then muttered some unpleasent things to herself before facing Ray again. "...I can't believe I just shared my most embarassing ailment with you..."

"Don't worry. I promised I wouldn't say anything about, so I won't." Ray assured in a serious tone.

"Good to know..." Rothe said as she winced.

"As I was saying, I've had a bunch of other stuff happen to me, and I can actually recall them clearly. Like this one time, when Professor Cierra fed me this slimy potion that made me cry like a cat for nearly two days. Apparently, I could communicate with a few strays that hung out around the campus, but aside from that, Professor Cierra had to pardon me from classes for the rest of the day. Unfortunatley, nobody else understood me. That careless teacher of mine had too much fun waving fish in front of my face, and Ein was too dim and confused to know what was going on. And my other friend Ledah, he just stared at me... like I was purposely trying to embarss myself. I never understood that guy..."

"Right, Ledah... I haven't heard about him for awhile. He's your... not so talkative friend, right?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. He always took life too seriously, if you ask me." Rothe groaned.

"Then... why is it that you had a hard time getting along with Jamie and Blue if you've already befriended that type of person before?" Ray wondered.

"First of all, Ledah's not THAT bad. He may be hard to approach, but at least he's the kind that's more than willing to lend a helping hand when you need it. He's actually a pretty nice guy if you don't let initial impressions intimidate you. Second of all, Jamie was a Jackass when I first met him! He whined and ranted about how much people suck! Of course I hated him before! To be honest, I think Ledah is better compared to our occasional visitor, Nami. In fact, I think the two of them could actually become best friends if they met eachother! Heck, I'm actually pretty tight with the Weather Girl herself, despite all the weirdness!"

Ray nodded to himself. "Ledah certainly sounds like an interesting, knowledgable person. I would really hope to meet him, someday. It's a shame he and Ein are in the Army " he said.

"Don't worry. Ein may be a liable perv, but he and Ledah have a knack for taking care of themselves." Rothe stated with complete confidence.

"Anyway, I've also had a horrid short-term memory loss potion that gave me a hard time with my studies, and really ruined a test for me. I was just lucky Professor Cierra took responsibility for her screwup, again.

And then there times I grew tails from various animals. The fox tail was way too fluffy, but I really miss that cat tail, for some reason. The cat tail was really cool! Plus, it complemented my feux-cat ears--!"

Ray tilted his head. "Just what IS this girl's fascination with cats, anyway? Sure, most people don't consider my fish fetish "normal" too, but..."

"--but yeah, that's a really strange thing to think about, huh?

Let's see... what else did she do to me? Oh, right! There was this time where a potion once gave me bat wings and made me look like a vampire. A lot of people freaked out with this one, but Ein just stared at them in jealousy. I kinda knew why, because he once told me always wanted to know what it felt like to fly with wings."

"Did you use that chance to fly? ... If your wings allowed you to, of course..." Ray asked.

"Sure, but just at night time, so I wouldn't scare any more people. It was cool being able to see the campus from the above, and the stars and moon were beautiful without anything in the way! Of course, I didn't want to deal with any further side effects from carrying the wings, and the Professor managed to come up with an antitode before sunrise. Both of us were afraid I might actually become vampiric or something. I guess that might have been one of the few experiences I actually thanked Professor Cierra for..." Ray thought to herself.

"Wait a minute! Cierra can actually make a cure to end this madness surrounding me?" Ray exclaimed.

"Er... I guess so, but some of the potions wore off by themselves, too. Still, I guess researching a cure couldn't hurt, in case you need one. But I don't suggest confronting Professor Cierra for a remedy. Some of her "antitodes" can have even worse effects. Some gave me animal whiskers or full-grown facial hair..." Rothe answered.

"Okay. Then maybe my best chance at survival is to wait it off in your home..." Ray calculated.

"Trust me, that's not your best bet. A few of my lady friends pass by here on a daily basis, and some will insist on coming in. You're better off researching in the library to find a way to counteract strong pheromones." Rothe suggested.

"I suppose it's worth a try..." Ray agreed.

"Of course, there IS Maria you have to watch out for. You think you can manage?" Rothe asked.

"She won't pose a problem." Ray answered with slight dissapointment. "Even to this day, I've made plenty of visits without making much eye contact with her. I mean, sure my relations with her improved over time, but she still makes me feel... funny..."

"Okay then! Go for it! You might have to watch out for incoming visitors, but I still think it's your best shot" Rothe answered.

Ray sighed. "You're right. I better go now before all those girls in the village consider seeking me out here!"

"Good luck with that." Rothe grinned.

After finishing his Grape Juice, Ray slowly opened the exit door and carefully scanned the area to search for signs of infatuated ladies. When he was sure the close was clear, Ray opened the door completly and turned to Rothe. Out of gratitude, he respectfully bowed his head.

"Thank you for all your help. Especially for providing me with a temporary safe haven." Ray called out.

Rothe nodded. "Sure. Just take care of yourself. And avoid getting spotted by Professer Cierra, too! She just might use you to find me, too!"

Ray nearly fell to the floor, but quickly recovered by leaning towards the door stand. "Of course, she's your problem, too..." he said aloud. After picking himself up, the determined fisherman carefully made his way to the Library.

"See ya later, Ray!" Rothe cried as she waved her friend goodbye. With that done, the laid back Farmer girl closed the door and headed towards her tool chest.

"Now to make my own plan of escape..." Rothe snickered to herself as she took out a Golden Fishing Pole, a Copper Hammer, and an Iron Hoe.

_Author's Note: It's like a return to Chapter 1! Y'know, I'm REALLY starting to like these Rothe and Ray moments. I should write more! Or even better: Offer some more Material to the Riviera Section and place our favorite fisherman in a Riviera fanfic! Right now I'm curious what people were thinking at the beginning of the Chapter, "Oh no! Rothe is TOTALLY going to fall for Ray now! How's a love-struck Rothe going to act around Ray? And why is Chicken Yuki continuing with this overused cliche?" Don't worry. I worked passed that, and now I ended up adding a few details to the discussion I didn't initially plan. At first, I was just going to have Rothe ramble on about the various ailments she suffered from Cierra's potions, but now Harvest Moon fans got to learn a little bit about Rothe's friend,Ledah, from Riviera: The Promised Land! Seriously! You people should check out that game right now if you haven't! It came out last summer (in limited supply, but there should be more copies out there now! At least there BETTER be!) so you guys missed out on a lot! Heh... Ledah rules... ;) _


	9. Charms of A Reunion

**Chapter 8**

Although it was a pretty small shack, the Hearty Lyla gift shop enjoyed its share of customers. For the moment, its sociable owner and a content customer occupied the humble space.

The owner behind the counter was a calm, yet happy young lady with fluffy pink hair adorned with flowers on each side. Her blissful expression made it difficult to determine the size and color of her eyes, however. She wore a dark blue dress-apron over a puffy white shirt and flowerly yellow dress.

The other was a healthy young moutain man with short red hair. His attire consisted of a green rimmed hat with a white and red feather, brownish ranger uniform and some black boots. He was busy checking out some of the fine pottery and jam jars being sold.

"It's really nice to see you again, Basil!" the young lady called out pleasently. "Where'd you go, anyway?"

The hearty ranger faced the owner with a welcome smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, Lyla. I was called to the city to help out with a park project for a bit, but I'm planning on staying put here for the rest of the week. Gotta check out Mt. Moon's incredible fauna while I can, you know!"

The pink-haired woman giggled. "That's a relief. You've always been good to me whenever you're around. It would be a shame to miss you prematurely."

Basil nodded. "And it would a shame for me to abandon this place so soon. There's still so many plants I might not know about, and I better get back to work before the winter months come! In the mean time, maybe I should try to find something else Nina likes... I already screwed up after giving her a valuable Blue Mist Flower..."

Lyla giggled again. "You mean, you messed up another confession to Nina? This doesn't bode well for your future love life..."

Basil groaned. "I know, I know. You already told me how hard Jack and Louis had it trying to court you. Right now, I feel even more pathetic than the two of them combined! There's nobody standing in the way, and yet I'm still blowing every chance I get! What's wrong with me?"

Lyla shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it's clear to me you enjoy younger women, huh? I guess this explains why you never had any interest in me..." she answered in a slightly dissapointed tone.

"That's because we're just better at being buddies. Besides, I need a good friend I can just talk to without feeling any pressure. And you fill in that role rather well." Basil admitted.

"Thank you! And you have a really good point about having good friends to click with. Still, despite that whole incident with Louis, I really did admire his generosity... a lot. I still feel guilty about everything that happened in the end." she sighed.

"Glad to know you still care about him. Geez, it seemed so long ago now, but I remember how you used to talk about him so much. Didn't expect Jack to come in the picture like that and take your heart away like that..." Basil said.

"Don't make it sound so simple like that!" Lyla cried uneasily. "I already told you, I had my reasons!"

"Yeah... that sudden breakup was a bleak time for the village... at least everyone's already moved on with their lives since then..." Basil lamented.

"So... Liz once told me you were pretty big news back in the botanists' village. You've already told me about some of the people you met there, but I'm still curious... exaclty how many women did you know back then, anyway?" she asked with much curiosity.

"Uh... well... that's a rather forward question to ask of you, Lyla! Why do you wanna know?"

Immediatley, the store bell rang, announcing the arrival of an incoming customer.

"Good morning. Welcome to Hearty Lyla's!" Lyla announced. "We have plenty of items just ready to--"

"Basil!" the new young lady cried as she raced into the botanist's arms.

"C-Cierra! What an unexpected pleasure! What have you been up to? And for that matter, What brings you to Flower Bud Village?" Basil asked.

"Aw man, I can't believe we haven't talked to each other for so long!" Cierra exclaimed in joy. "But to answer your question, I' doing some studies on the local plants, and I'm also working on a personal experiment on the side!" she explained.

"Ah yes... one of your famous experiments..." Basil uttered in curiousity.

"So... this must be that "Miss Cierra" from the botanists' village you've told me about." Lyla chirped. "She's certainly an interesting character..."

Basil nodded. "Right. The last time I saw this woan, she told me she was going to become a Professor at Asgard University, and according to how she's doing right now, I assume she accomplished that goal."

"Come now! Of course I did! I happen to be a very capable woman when it comes to my work!" Cierra boasted.

Basil chuckled to myself. "Oh no. I don't doubt your talent in any way. It's just that your passion at work can be a little too much at times."

"Don't be absurd! I have reasonable self-control!" Cierra argued.

"Oh relax! They're actually really loveable quirks in my opinion!" Basil admitted.

Cierra's faced blushed slightly. "Really Basil?" she uttered in a soft voice. She then embraced him tightly.

"Oh, Basil! you've always been good to me!"

Lyla stood by cheerfully as she watched their little scene together. "Seems like you two are really close!" Lyla grinned.

Cierra nodded vigorously. "Well, yeah! As long as I knew him, Basil was always the gentleman!" she smirked.

"Well, how about that?" Lyla answered.

Basil forced out a hearty laugh. "You ladies... honestly! Sometimes you can take flattery too far!" he chuckled nervously.

"I actually think you're a praiseworthy kind of guy!" Lyla chirped.

"Yup! He's the best!" Cierra chimed in.

The two young lady laughed together while Basil went along in discomfort.

"Soo... I've heard news that you took a liking in Liz' daughter, Nina. What's with this sudden interest?" Cierra inquired.

Basil laughed nervously. "Really?... Who did you hear that from?"

Cierra placed her right index finger underneath her chin and looked up at the ceiling for a little while. "Hmm... well... I met this nice little fellow coming in with a cap on backwards... I believe his name was Jack. Yeah, I asked about you, and he told me about you and Nina, and how you've tried really hard to ask her out. It was a really interesting conversation!"

"Jack, huh?" Basil uttered uneasily. "Hmmm... yeah, that explains a lot..." he nodded a lot.

"Of course that doesn't quite out do some of the better stories from when we used to hang out at the botanists' village! Like that time when Iris brought you a bocay of the flowers she worked hard to grow and managed to work up the courage to ask you out on date, but you thought they were meant for someone else! And do you know what he said? I think it was something like, "You're interested in dating someone? Actually, I think the girl asking the guy out is a great idea!". Poor Iris never had a chance to explain herself, I think she ran off crying. Speaking of which, I wonder how Iris is---"

Basil swiftly covered Cierra's mouth out of sheer embarassment. "Ah... yeah, that's enough reminiscing!" he cried in a panic.

"Oh no! Not at all! There wre plenty of good times to go off on! Let me share some more!" Cierra insisted.

As Cierra tried to recall more tales of the past, Lyla witnessed Basil's dissapointed expression.

"I see... so Basil's run in with a quite a few pitfalls in his love life already, huh? The poor guy's already inadvertently broken a few hearts along the way, and now he's failing in the one time he finally found feelings for someone. He's hopelessly fraught in bad karma... it's so cruel. Basil always means well. He never hurt anyone intentionally! I wonder when his luck will finally turn around?" she thought sympathetically.

"Well, that's enough "Tales fro the botanists' village! How about memories of the few treks we took together?" Cierra grinned.

"T-that's a good idea..." Basil agreed while nearly out of breath.

"You remember Nelde Ruins, right? It was really swampy, but it was so abundant with exotic plants!" Cierra cried.

Basil nodded. "Ah, right. Nelde. Now THAT was an adventure!" Basil proudly announced. "All the exotic wildlife a naturalist could ever ask for! Gigantic, graceful birds flied vigilantly overhead. Growling apes wandered aimlessly across the trees. There were even insects crawling about that were this big roaming the marshlands! Of course, none of it compared to the vast variety of flowers and fungi that covered the area! We even found varieties of mushrooms that were previously thought to have been myth! And the scents of those flowers! They were so diverse and and enchanting... I can still recall each and every escence to this day!"

"So... did you happen to run into any snakes along the way?" Lyla asked.

"Oh, thank heavens no! It was a delightful surprise not seeing any snakes there! I'm deathly afraid of those things!" Cierra confessed. "But even if we ran into any, I'm sure Basil here could take care of them! He's always so calm and brave whenever it comes to exploration! It's nice to have him around whenever you're going somewhere new! Like Flower Bud Village for instance!" Cierra answered.

"That's good to hear. Going into a swamp sounds rather unpleasent at first, but if there's really as many wondeful fragrances as you say there are, maybe I could visit this place one day with Jack and Gwen! My husband always enjoyed exploring new places, and my friend Gwen always had a thing for adventure!" said Lyla.

"Then I'm sure your friend Gwen will love it! It has such an interesting backstory, too! They say that in ancient times, Nelde was once overrun with demons! I doubt it's true, but it really makes you think about the culture of that place." Cierra noted.

"Actually, I do recall the remains of a stronghold deep within the ruins. There were a lot of statues that seemed connected to Deon Worship. Like the ones we found of armoured skeletons and a vicious beast king." Basil added.

"Oh, right! Isn't that where we found those adorable white butterflies?" Cierra cheered.

"White Butterflies...? Oh, yes! Of coruse! I believe someone called them "Amberetes" if I'm not mistakened. Come to think if it, I might've met Nami and a friend of her's in that area." Basil said.

"Nami? Isn't she the fellow red-head travelling with that charming fellow with a brown ponytail and travelling robe? They both seemed like intelligent folks.. and they look like they'd make such a cute couple, too!" Cierra exclaimed.

"I've actually seen Nami around town a few times... and on TV as a Weather Girl. Apparently, she and her friend haven't been together for awhile. I heard that's she's in town today, so you could ask her about it." Basil answered.

"Really? That's interesting! I guess it would be nice to talk with at one more familiar face around here!" Cierra agreed. "Speaking of the people here, let's talk about Nina again."

Basil gulped. "Must we seriously bring that up again?"

"Of course!" Cierra chirped. "Nina's the daughter of a longtime friend! It sounds like big news to me!"

"...Honestly, Cierra! You make it sound so scandelous! Liz has such youthful vigor, bless her soul, but you know how much older than us she is! That means Nina's in a decent range!" he cried in panic.

Cierra nodded. "True. Liz was always like a kind older sister to us, and I admit that Nina is an adorable young lady. But still... developing feelings that could potentielly make you Liz's son-in-law. It's intriguing to hear of this sudden development, but a younger lady? I honestly didn't expect this from you!"

Basil sighed. "... I'm not a pedophile..." he promptly stated.

"That's not the problem I have with this." Cierra voiced with a tinge of concern. She then started gently grasped Basil's arm. "It's just... after everything we've been through... what's wrong with me?" she pouted.

Basil's face blushed slightly. "W-wha?"

"Come on... you've done so many nice things for me already. You think I wouldn't notice?" Cierra said in a soft voice.

The quivering Basil looked like he was on the verge of crying. "...another one?..." he thought cryptically to himself.

"It was really sweet of you to stand up for me all those times when people called me a helpless ditz, and you always took really good care of me during all those visits we made for the sake of research. I've really come to appreciate all you've done for me, but then I've been seperated from you for awhile, and I've really come to miss you..."

At that point, Basil started to feel a cold sweat pouring from his brow.

"...Is that so?" Basil asked nervously.

"Yes. Aside from working on my new experimental potion, I've been dying to see you again for the longest time and---"

Cierra blinked with a peculiar gaze for a minute.

"Oh darn it! I forgot!" Cierra proclaimed as she pound her right fist upon her left palm.

"I left an unfinished elixir back at Liz's place that I have to take care of! If some careless yutz drinks it at its current state, who knows what kind of chaos will come into their life?" she cried.

Basil blinked. "Is this new elixir part of that new "Axiom Heart" project you've been working on?" he inquired.

Cierra rubbed hear head in embarassment. "Yeah... that's why it's so important I take care of it sooner!"

She then pushed the door open and thrust her head outside, vigorously searching outside. There was a faint figure that made its way towards Flower Bud Library, but it didn't catch Cierra's attention. She then pulled herself back into the gift shop.

"Err... sorry for this latest development, but can anyone please tell me where the Goddess Spring is? I am in dire need of its spring water right away!" she pleaded in a hurry.

"It shouldn't be too hard to find. Just take follow the path up Mt. Moon, and keep takiing the left side of each fork. It should eventually lead you to the spring." Basil instructed.

"Okay, thanks again Basil." Cierra said as she bowed her head respectfully. "Again, I'm sorry for having to leave on such short notice."

Before she could make her exit, Basil quickly took her by the hand. "... If it's okay with you, I can guide you on the way. I just rememebered some the roads in the village can get really confusing for a first-timer." he interjected.

"O-oh... that would be really helpful. Thank you." Cierra said as her face redened slightly.

"It's no problem. I'm simply doing a favor for an old friend, so I'll be more than happy to help out again." Basil responded.

Cierra then turned to Lyla. "Well, it's been a pleasure to meet you, Lyla. Thanks for taking good care of Basil. I hope we can talk again soon! You've been very pleasent and courteous."

Lyla nodded. "How about Tonight at the Moonlight Cafe? The owner has a really nice selection and some very fine drinks. I can assure you that the Apple Soda served there is execelent!" she assured.

"I'll consider it!" Cierra answered back.

"Come on, let's go! We should take care of this as soon as possible!" Basil cried from the outside.

"Gotcha!" Cierra called out. "Well then, Goodbye Lyla! It's been fun!"

"Likewise!" Lyla called back. "Next time you come here, you can have your choice of a Jam or Perfume, free of charge!"

"Wow! That's really generous of you!" Cierra said before exiting the store herself.

As she finally left Hearty Lyla, the compassionate Professor quickly scooped up Gateau, who was waiting patiently on some grass. "You've been such a good kitty, Gateau! And now you get to come with Mommy Cierra into the Godess Spring! Isn't that nice?" she told the white kitten in a cute voice while gently stroking its back.

"Hmm... another good friend for the stray. That's one lucky fellow." Basil grinned.

As the trio made their way towards the Godess Spring, Cierra shot Basil a serious look. "Our little conversation isn't over, Basil. We still have much to discuss..." she demanded.

Basil blushed with a pancked look on his face. "Cierra.. I'm just trying to be helpful! That's all!"

Cierra sighed. "I really wish you were trying to be more than just helpful..." she thought to herself.

Back at the gift shop, Lyla sighed wistfully to herself.

"Unfortunatley, that's what you get for being so honest and straightforward, Basil. This only goes to show that there's a price for everything, even when it's an admirable quality of human nature. I even ended up suffering for my misguided compassion..."

After lamenting Basil's plight, Lyla took out an extensive encyclopedia on plants and fruit, which had a Pinkcat Flower pressed right by the cover.

"Still, I'm rooting for your future, dear friend. I hope you discover true hapiness when it matters most."

Lyla then softly caressed the flattened flower before binding the book and putting it away once more.

"And... I regret having to say this behind your back again, but... I'm sorry for using our friendship for my own means. You're just too good of a friend to not be noticed that way..."

Finally, she gazed up at the sky and laughed meekly to herself.

"...Jamie's right. I really was more cunning than Darling..."

_Author's Notes: _

_Reason Why Basil Rules: "I see. You have someone you want to propose to? I think the girl proposing is a great idea!" 'nuff said._

_I just think how awesome it is that Basil can be so endeering clueless when a cute little farm girl presents him a Blue Feather without the propper amount of affection. Go Basil! -cough- Uh, -hack- anyway... _

_Lyla ended up getting a much bigger part in this Chapter than I originally planned. A whole lot of things made surpring changes as I went on with this story, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised... but still, I am. Wow. I was intending this just to be a personal session between Cierra and Basil, but our friendly neighborhood gift shop owner had a whole lot to offer to their reunion! It's really strange, but I think I'm starting to like Lyla more as I continue to incorporate her into my fanfics. She's proven to have a lot of potentiel, and I love it! _

_Also, I think I actually like the idea of Basil X Cierra! If you got to know the two of them as well as I have, they really do have a lot in common, and I believe their personalities mesh rather well. It's a shame they've both been officially seperated by Video Game Universes, but that's what fanfics like these are! Honestly! They'd be an awesome couple!_

_On a creepy, final note: A Personality Quiz about Riviera stated that I'm most like Cierra. Why is that? Do I sound anything like the Cierra I've potrayed in this story so far? Or for that matter, do I sound like the "authentic" Cierra to any of the Riviera fans out there? ...this is most disturbing._

_...Yes, for some reason, even Lyla's Pumkin Fetish strongly appeals to me now..._


	10. Charms of Despair

**Chapter 9**

_Warning: Most of the bizzare humor from earlier is going away for the moment, I think. If you hate seemingly pointless character development, skip this Chapter and wait for the next update. Oh yeah, beware of early psychobable, too._

The atmosphere was peaceful as usual at Flower Bud Library. For the moment, there aren't any patrons searching through the numerous archives availible within its shelves. It was just Maria, the calm, mild-manered Librarian, who sat patiently sat at her station, reading one her many beloved books to let time pass by on a typically slow day.

"Mmhm... it's certainly another great day in Flower Bud Library!" Maria said to herself in content.

And for the most part, it truly was yet another great day for Maria.

--

For as long as she could remember, the prim and propper young lady spent most of her quiet days either with her Father, or just by herself. In time, she had become accustomed to the peace of sollitude. This developed sense of calm made her a suitable Librarian, even if her noble upbringing and her preaching ways suggested that she could aspire to a higher calling.

Despite her nature, the innate human need of socializing catches up to every person to some extent, and lonliness occcasionally aflicted the prodigal maiden. Eventually, she grew attached to the solemn, yet dedicated Doctor Alex as he made the occasional visit to research medical knowledge and discuss a few issues with Maria as like-minded intellectuals. Unfortunatley, this lead to heartbreak for Maria when Alex's affections became split between his faithful nurse, Gina, and his precious patient, Dia. However, the very same incident of heartbreak also became a fortidious event, as she discovered a valued friendship in Doctor Alex, as well as a pleasant revalation thanks to Jack.

Since then, Maria's sense of hope raised. She started to initiate conversations with more Library patrons, and even found unexpected friendships with regulars Louis and Basil.

Still, there was one visitor that always vexed and perplexed her to a great extent. That one particular patron happened to be the wandering Fisherman, Ray.

In the beginning, the humble fisherman always made an effort to avoid the ever curious Maria. This mysterious barrier between her and Ray really frustrated the Librarian, and further increased her curiosity. Their unnerving issolation lasted for seasons since their first encounter, and for a time, it began taking its toll on Maria. It seemed fated that this silence between them would laster forever, until a special discovery finally shattered the walls that kept them apart.

Recently, Ray found his calling in painting, thus, bringing the worldly pair together and forging a bond of friendship under the blessing of the arts. It was a significant step towards hapiness for the both of them, yet one vital component still eluded them.

It was a great chasm that yearned to be filled.

But will this chasm be filled with the bridge meant to bring these solitary souls together? Or will destiny intervene to sever the fragile ties to free them from an unseen despair?

It was an answer only Ray and Maria could find out.

---

On this particular day, the Library had been devoid of patrons since its opening. Doctor Alex had a few things to take care of back at the clinic, Louis was sharing another mining day with Ann, and Basil was off escorting an old friend to the Godess Spring. That only lef the absence of Ray, which Maria assumed he was off enjoying another peaceful day fishing by himself, or with a few of his friends.

Thanks days like this, Maria occasionally thought, "If only I wasn't charged with watching over the Library, I could go outside and enjoy nature on a daily basis. I might even be able to talk to more people."

Then of course, she realized this responsibility was a duty she took on by her own free will. This regular reminder always managed to shock her back into content.

"At the very least, there's a good chance I can go on reading these wonderfully written books without interuption!" she cheered to herself.

And so, her day of sollitude moved on in appreciated silence until the door swung open, revealing an out of breath fisherman.

"Good Morning, Ray, and Welcome to Flower Bud Library." Maria greeted softly as she gave a polite curtsy.

"Good Morning Maria. And Thank you." Ray said as he took care to avert his eyes from the Librarian. He then scanned the Library for a specific section.

"Uh, Ray? Is something wrong?" Maria asked with great concern.

"N-no. I'm sorry. But can you please show me where you can find some books on human biology or plants? They would be of great help to me." Ray coolly requested.

Maria nodded in confirmation while subtley trying to make eye contact with her patron. "I sure can. You've certainly made an interesting choice of books. That kind of selection is something I would expect from Doctor Alex." she answered.

"Uh, I suppose that would make sense. The kind of knowledge I'm seeking does seem to work into his field." Ray confessed while making a few side glances at Maria.

"Well, as I said to Doctor Alex the first time he entered here, we unfortunatley have a limited suply of books on human biology and anatomy, but we have a fine selection on plants and their medicinal problems, and we even have a few quality books on psychology. Would you be interested on those as well?" Maria asked.

Ray nodded. "Yes. That would be very much appreciated." he answered politely while focusing his gaze on the bookshelves before him.

Maria watched on with inner concern. "This is strange. Before, Ray was usually anxious whenever he was around me. I was glad when we finally started talking with eachother, but now he seems so determined not to make eye contact with me. For what reason would he try to keep me distant while doing personal research?" she thought to herself.

At this time, Ray grit his teeth. "I CAN'T make eye contact with Maria... I just can't afford to turn her into a victim like the rest of the women I came across. Besides, it would be especially wrong to have her heart manipulated..."

"The plant section consists of a few shelves from this row here, next to my desk." Maria said as she pointed out the the section. "And the human studies section is right here." she instructed as she pointed out a shelf that could still be viewed by the desk.

Ray gulped. "This isn't good. I have to work fast before Maria checks up on me." he thought o himself. "I don't want to force a direct confrontation if I can avoid it."

Meanwhile, at Flower Bud Point, Rothe was prepared to go into hiding with her rucksack when a concerned young girl caught up to her. This guest had brown hair in pigtails and big chocolate brown eyes. She wore a casual pink vest over a white t-shirt and with a red bandana around her neck, and light blue jean shorts.

"Rothe! Rothe! You gotta help me!" the little lady cried.

"J-Jill?" Rothe exclaimed as she leapt back. "I barely see your peppy self around here! What have you been up to around the village, anyway?"

Jill stared blankly at her fellow farmer. "Huh? I've just been a little more preoccupied with my farming work latley..." she then shook her head vigorously as she recalled her sitaution. But seriously! There's something I need to know!"

Rothe tried to hold Jill in place as she started hopping up in down energetically. "Whoah! Calm down there! Help won't be able to come your way if you overdo your enthusiasm! Now, what is it?"

"All these ladies have gone stark raving mad over Mr. Ray! They're not acting normal at all!" she yelled. "Even my best friend Nina stared acting crazy, and she never had that sort of interest in him before! I think something bad happened!" she yelled.

Rothe laughed nervously. "There's slight hypocrisy in what you've just said, but Ray and I are just glad you've grown more tame over time..." she thought to herself.

"I suppose that is news for concern..." Rothe agreed.

"I know!" Jill shouted seriously. "So I figure he'd come to you with this kind of madness going on! Have you seen him latley? Do you know where he went?" she asked like a concerned mother.

"Aha... you know what? I was just about to say that he came by earlier with the same complaint!" Rothe admitted.

"Oh, really? Then can you please tell me?" Jill asked.

Rothe shook her head. "I'm sory, it's just... we all know how you get when you're around Ray, and I think you just might make his fears worse." she stated.

"I understand that." she said in a calmer voice. "That's why I've been doing a little more thinking lately. I've always felt really happy whenever I'm around him, but I'm starting to think I should take my feelings more seriously if I want to--"

She immediatley cut herself off with heavy blushing.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to do is protect him until things die down! Please! I'm not kidding!" Jill cried.

Rothe stared deeply in Jill's eyes and saw a serious presence in them. "This is just like the Jill I saw in mine! I actually thought I was imagining things earlier, but I really think this is the introspective side Jamie told me about! Yeah... I'm really impressed by this girl..." she thought to herself. "... Man! She's the shorter one, but I'm starting to feel like a child next to her!"

The green-wearing wisecracker groaned. "Okay... just listen carefully. Ray head to the library to try and learn about what happened to him. I'm sure he's still there, so there's little chance you'll miss him." she informed.

Jill nodded. "Thank you." She then averted her eyes in embarassment. "Y'know... I actually started to worry that my engaing approach was scaring him away, but then he started being nice to me in return and... and then we started fishing and hanging out together... and then I actually saw him paint... it all made me think more..."

Rothe chuckled. "And you told me you spent all that time doing more farm work! I guess all that preocupied time was really "thinking", huh?" she teased.

Jill's face then changed to the collor of a ripe red strawbery. "Uh, well... I..."

"He really means a lot to you, doesnt he?" Rothe said sympathatically.

Jill noded silently.

"Ah, that was a silly question. Your face has Ray written all over it! I'm just surprised after all the glomping sessions you had with him that you're actually shying away from this" Rothe remarked.

"I guess... things started changing when I finally got to know him..." Jill thought to herself.

"Well, I gotta go now. I can't just leave him out in the open any longer!" Jill cried out with a portion of her pep back.

"Yeah... just don't cause a comotion and startle everyone at the Library. Maria's always then when it's open and ... er... you might create a misunderstanding and scare him off." Rothe answered.

Jill gave Rothe a funny look. "Rothe? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Again, the unnerved city girl laughed nervously. "Oh! Oh no. It's nothing. Don't concern yourself with it!" she insisted.

"Man. Jill's still such a sweet and caring kid. I'm not sure how she'd react to me badmouthing our visitor and making claims about bizarre love potions. She might think I'm being rude and delusional, and send me off to bed or something." she thought.

"Just watch out take care of yourself, Jill. You got it?" Rothe said.

"Yeah, I got it!" Jill answered with a smile. She then ran off with youthful determination.

Rothe slapped her forehead. "I think I just set up a really big mess, didn't I? But I really couldn't turn her down like that, and there is a chance that Ray might make it out beforehand! ... yeah right..."

She then started clutching her forehead anxiously. "If that girl knew how strong Ray's feelings for the Librarian are, I don't know if she'd be able to handle it... still, she just might be the one that can protect poor Ray from influencing Maria's emotions. After all, Jill's naturally in love with my fishy friend, already. What further damage could Cierra's potion possibly do to her?"

Although she still felt ill at ease with what she had set in motion, the desperate Rothe hurried to Moonlight Cave in order to escape the light of day, and Cierra.

---

For a moment, there was a deep chasm between two solitary souls that began widening due to dissaster. At the same time, a young girl climbed up a steep cliff with little hope left to hold onto. If that chasm became filled, the young girl will end up burried along with her remaining hope.

---

Back at the Library, Ray still skimmed through a bunch of books while Maria watched by with anxiety and curiousity.

"Have I done something to offend Ray? It's like he wants nothing to do with me." the Librarian worried.

Ray continued to flip through a bunch of books with little luck. "Ah... there's nothing here that I need here, too! I have a feeling that Blue Mist Flower I picked with Cierra yesterday could be part of that Ruby Tea potion, but none of these records mention any medicinal or other properties it carries! Gah... it also doesn't help that I don't know what else could be in it! All I know that it tastes a little bit like egg nog, but I can't be sure she put an egg in it!"

The frustraed Fisherman was about to chuck the useless book, until he caught Maria at a side glance, and gently set it aside.

"... Maria always works so hard around here. It shouldn't cause her any more trouble..." he rationalized to himself.

At the counter, Maria notced this near outburst of anger.

"Well, there is definatley something wrong. Ray seems so uptight now, and I've never seen him act out like that before. This looks serious." Maria thought to herself. She then turned to the book she was trying to read. "I'm sory, but I just can't bring myself to read you right now..."

A few more books later, Ray started showing sides of fatigue. His body hunched slightly, and he started breathing hard. "N-no... not now. I must've wasted so much energy trying to get away from the ladies back then. And even right now, I'm wasting so much trying to get through these books in a hurry. I have to find breakthrough quickly, before my body starts to collapse, and Maria will have to rush over and check me."

He glanced over to see Maria watching over him attentively, but he shot her an offended glare and went right back to work.

"No matter what, I can't let that happen until I can get this fixed..." Ray swore to himself.

Upon receiving his glare, Maria felt a shock run through her body. "Why is he doing this? Does he hate me?" she thought to herself.

She then thought back to a few moments where she caught him painting in nature. She remembered him working on a few paintings with Henry's help before he started his own work. From afar, she was able to admire his uncanny talent, but when she tried to inquire about his work, he acted desperatley to keep her from seeing it.

"He's done such beautiful work latley, yet he clearly doesn't want me to see it. I've seen him allow Jill to take a look, and she always looked so happy. Is it she who inspires him all this time? Am I just an interloper? Have I been getting in his way, lately?" she thought in fear.

She then caught a glimpse of his tiring body.

"Whatever's going on, he doesn't look too good now. And he's taken a curious interest in medical texts."

A sudden terror struck her.

"Is he sick?"

At the shelves, Ray's heavy eyes rested on the psychologoy book he picked out. "I initially thought this would not be so helpful at first, but Maria did make a strong recomendation on this. My condition is having some sort of mental effect on the women too, so this could be of great use to me." he thought.

He was just about to reach for the book when he hunched even further, and started coughing wildly. His body started feeling so heavy, he couldn't bring himself up properly.

"Ray!" Maria cried in a panic as she rushed over to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Oh no..." Ray thought. In desperation, he gathered his remaining strength to pick himself up and get away, but he was unable to sustain himself for long, so he ended up slipping and crashed knee first into the floor.

"Please stop this! You're being reckless!" Maria begged.

"Maria! Stay away!" Ray shouted.

"No! You need help! Let me take you to Doctor Alex!" the Librarian argued.

Ray felt his chest pound. "I... overexherted myself this time, didn't I?" he thought. "I suppose I should get some rest after I take care of my current problem, but THAT isn't something he can fix. If I told Doctor Alex about my situation, he would've just had the ladies contained and quaranteened so he could study their change of behavior. Of course, that wouldn't really help thins in the end, and it wouldn't be fair to the ladies. Besides, I might end up affecting Gina, too." he thought.

A single tear ran down his cheek before he turned completly away from Maria.

"I'm sorry, Maria..." he thought himself. He then slowly opened his mouth.

"I TOLD YOU! GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted.

"Ray--"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

The regretful fisherman tried to bring himself up once more, but he ended up fumbling and nearly slamming his head onto the floor, but Maria reacted quick enough to catch him.

"...Do you hate me?" Maria asked in a soft voice. "Have you just been tolerating me all this time? Were you just forcing yourself to get along with me out of pitty?"

Ray felt warm droplets of water falling on his back.

"No... that's not it at all. I..." Ray started thinking to himself.

"Maria, just keep away from me. I don't want to be bothered..." he stated.

"YOU'VE GOT TO ME KIDDING ME!" Maria cried as she forced the fisherman to look straight at her.

Poor Ray freaked out as soon as their eyes met.

Maria's heart pounded wildly. A strange feeling started to overwhelm her, and she clutched her heart.

Ray nearly felt faint, anticipating what was to come, but something did not feel right about this instance.

"Ray! I don't know what in the world is wrong with you, but you must let me help you! It's clear to me that you're not well!" Maria continued shouting.

The young fisherman was perplexed. "W-why isn't she being affected like everyone else? I doubt she was constantly exposed to strange potions like Rothe was, so she shouldn't be--" he then saw how hard Maria held on to her chest. "Don't tell me..." he thought.

"I want an explanation... for everything." Maria demanded. Her voice was harsh, yet soft and sweet.

A shiver ran down Ray's spine from what he witnessed before him. Maria was breathing heavily, and sweat starting dripping from her forehead. But what caught his attention the most was the look of fortitude in her eyes.

"I can't allow myself to be distracted," Maria thought to herself. "Ray's health is more urgent."

"She's fighting the effects of the potion?" Ray thought in astonishment.

"Please... let me... help you..." Maria begged.

"Maria! Please just relax! You don't have to kill yourself over this!" Ray pleaded. But the Librarian was far too concerned for Ray to let her current condition bother her.

"No. You're... more... important..." Maria said weakly. Her heart rate soon reached unbearable heights.

"Maria!"

Ironically, it was the Librarian who first succumbed to her weakness. Her poor body couldn't handle the pressure she put it through, so it collapsed right on top of Ray.

"Maria! Hold on!" Ray cried.

In her barely concious state, the dedicated Librarian realized that the sensation trying to overcome her brought the promise of hapiness. But it was an offer she could not accept.

"It's a false hapiness," Maria thought to herself. "I want my hapiness to be my own."

"Maria!" Ray cried again.

Maria's eyes barely managed to open up.

"Maria!" Ray cried once more, this time in relief. "Are you alright?"

Maria smiled. A silly thought passed in her mind, but she felt she might as well voice it out.

"...Ray...?" Maria called out weakly.

"Yes?"

"Do you... hate... me?" she asked again.

"No.. of course not..." Ray answered gently.

Both Ray and Maria looked at eachother meaningfully. The sudden feeling felt between them was unclear, but they both knew it meant something signifcant.

It was then that the door swung open.

"Ray! I've come to help! I saw how the ladies have suddenly gone crazy and--"

The little girl's eyes dialated upon witnessing this scene.

At this time, the nervous pair turned to see a farmer girl in shock.

"Jill!" Ray exclaimed. "I-it's not what it looks like!"

But the poor farmer girl's heart was fraught with muddled emotions.

What first surfaced was jealousy and frustration, but those easily dissipated just as soon as they came up.

Jill kindly heart had a knack for emphathy, which proved to be both a blessing and curse for her. It allowed her to understand the feelings of those around her. It allowed her to see the truth.

And the truth that she saw before her wasn't another young woman who fell victim to an influential potion.

It was the exchange of looks between two people who cared deeply for eachother. It was the kind of compassion that held the potentiel of destined love. But worst of all, it was something that Ray was part of, but at the same time, something she herself was not.

She could've moped openly, but she did not.

She could've hurt Ray then and there, and deny her feelings at that moment, but she did not.

She could've even blame all her pain on Maria for stealing Ray away, but she could not.

For a few long and bitter minutes, Jill merely stood there, crying silent tears of sorrow.

At the same, the weary Maria took a good look at Jill's weapy eyes, and felt a kindred spirit within.

"This feeling... it's... exactly how I felt when I realized Doctor Alex was a lost cause for me! B-but... it was as if my life suddenly lost it's meaning, and... no!" her heart cried.

Maria slowly raised her arm and tried to reach out to the hurting farm girl, but Jill had already fled.

"She's still so young, and her life's to precious to so many people. I can't... let her..."

With the shock of fear overcoming her, the Librarian fainted in Ray's arms as she cried her saddest tears.

Ray gently laid his fallen friend's head upon the floor before he stood himself up completly.

The look in Jill's face proved to be a bitter sting for him as well.

"Jill wanted me to look after her since she moved into the village, and now this happens. She admired me all this time, and I couldn't even give her a decent answer. I can't just leave her like that." he thought to himself.

He then ran after the heartbroken farmer girl with the last of his strength.

"Jill! Wait!" he shouted, but it was no use, for he too fell from his own exauhstion.

--

A moment of fate passed. The chasm between two solitary souls had still not been filled, but the young girl who had scaled its heights to reach her beloved felt a sudden tug at her last hope. The gravity of despair proved too great. and so the young girl began her descent towards a watery grave...

_Author's Note: BUM BUM BUM! EGADS! MARIA IS A DOLPHIN IN DISGUISE! GWAH! Oh, right. You'd have to have read the "Love Advice" reviews to understand this obscure reference._

_...As I said, this was by far the most serious Chapter in my story. It was fun. It was meaningful. And I feared that Writer's Block would've reared its ugly head like it did with "Love Advice", but it didn't. Yay for me!_

_But now, with 9 Chapters under my belt (My longest record in Harvest Moon Fic History!) I think I'm going to chill for a bit and get started on "Katie Defense Force." Although, there's a good chance that by the time I update this, it'll probably be up already. You see, I'm only able to update on nearly a weekly basis for some reason, but I've still been writing Chapters on almost daily basis, so I think I actually covered 5-7 Chapters in a week! Of course, I did also get started on a Riviera fic in a meantime, but I'm not required, or paid to do this, so I make all the shots._

_Finally, thank you ManaMage for giving me a hobby all summer long. I doubt you've signed on to this particular fic, but I appreciated what you've done._

_Alright! "Katie Defense Force" Should be heading your way soon! And if you have the time, PLEASE read "Guns and Dolls"! A Mafia Farmer is cool! Don't leave poor Nack in obscurity!_


	11. Author's Note

**Author's Notice**

Okay, yeah. This should be glaringly obvious right now, but this story has been, and probably will be, on hiatus for quite a while. I believe this is the second hiatus this story has been on so far! Gah… another long-running story to suffer from so little reviews.

It's a shame, because I have about 2-3 Chapters left planned left for this story, but because of "stuff", I doubt I'll get back to this soon.

Still, I've taken a notice to quite a few new fans of my work, but not some of them too interested in scanning through my profile for my past works (or just don't want to take the time to review). It's somewhat of a shame, really, but I hope this Update grabs the attention of new readers for this fic.

Again, I thank rosebabykiss and Jenvaati for sticking to this story for so long.

For anyone's curiosity, I'm likely to continue "Cinder Gina" before finishing it up.

I'm sorry for this inconvenience for the fans of this fanfiction, but if you just happened to make your way through the Nine Genuine Chapters along with a Prologue to make your way here, thank you for joining me.


	12. Charms of Bittersweet Jam

**Chapter 10**

Back by the foot of Mt. Moon was the infamous property of the Jamie Ranch. At the time, an androgynous rancher with a cowboy hat, some slick lavender hair, and a poncho with many shades of purple was busy feeding the cows.

The youthful rancher seemed to be mumbling incoherently as two figures passed by the Ranch.

"Hello, there!" a cheerful voice called out.

The rancher turned around to see an ecstatic Cierra and a patient Basil.

"You must be the owner of this ranch, Jamie, I presume." Cierra concluded.

"...And... you must be Cierra..." Jamie replied flatly.

"Ah, good then! That saves some time for me to explain myself!" Cierra said with relief. "I've heard a lot about you from the other villagers. They say you can be rather... rough around the edges... but I'm glad to see you can be level-headed, too. And they also told me to be aware that you're a man, but I don't see as to how I can make the confusion. You look masculine enough to me, and handsome might I add."

Jamie's expression barley changed at all.

"...Okay.." Jamie said dubiously.

"Sure! No problem!" Cierra answered in a chipper tone. "Anyway, I've also heard that you're familiar with a certain farmer named Rothe. Now, I've been inquiring about her whereabouts for quite awhile, but all they can tell me is that she tends to be all over the place. Do you happen to know some places where she usually hangs out?"

A long pause remained between the two conversationalists. At the same time, Basil watched by with unease.

"There's something about that rancher's eyes that tells me he's not too good with Cierra..." Basil noted.

"...I'm sorry... I can't really say..." Jamie replied coolly.

"Oh, okay. That's too bad. I was really hoping to meet my old pupil, too." Cierra sighed with disappointment.

"Cierra, I'm sorry we couldn't get any help here, but we should probably et going. Leaving an unfinished elixir unattended isn't a good idea." Basil called out.

"Oh right! I almost forgot again!" Cierra blurted out in embarrassment. "Well, thanks anyway, Jamie. It was really nice to meet you!" she cried as she waved energetically.

The rancher gave a simple nod in response.

After that brief exchange, the two avid botanists prepared to head up Mt. Moon.

"While you're here, I suggest you not screw around with Nature, or you'll regret it." Jamie sternly cried out.

Cierra quickly turned around with a chipper smile. "Thanks for your concern!" Cierra cried back blissfully. She then turned to face Basil with the same expression.

"He's such a nice young man!" she told her colleague in delight.

Basil shrugged. "Somehow, he didn't seem all that friendly to me, but at least you're okay with it." he confessed.

"Oh, don't be silly! You're just saying that because you're jealous, aren't you?" Cierra remarked with a mischievous laugh.

"Huh?"

As soon as the botanic pair was a good distance away from the Ranch, Jamie sighed.

"That woman... the resemblance is uncanny. She's just like that witch with the goofy pointed hat from awhile back. Their clothes maybe different, but the face and personality are exactly the same. She's even causing trouble for everyone around her by tampering around with the elements. Even if I was a little nicer towards peope back then, that Scarlet Witch always bothered me.." he groaned.

"It's like that particular apple merely fell from a three-foot tree..."

Jamie was about to go back to work on his ranch, however, he noticed a certain girl with pigtails fleeing from the Library. The rancher immediately froze in horror upon witnessing this scene.

"Jill..." he uttered quietly.

In desperation, Jamie stopped his work and chased after the shattered soul.

_Author's Notes: Wow... short chapter. This was actually going to be part of a bigger, longer Chapter, but I decided that since this was on hold for a long time, and that the other portion of this story can stand alone as its own Chapter, that this should be good enough._

_Anyway, before I put this story on hold yet again, and try to continue "Cinder Gina", (Haha, sorry...) I'm going to try and post the next Chapter._

_We're still focusing on Cierra Basil, however, we've merely touched the surface of their past. It's time we delve a little deeper..._


	13. Charms of a Treasured Childhood

**Chapter 11**

Long ago, in the village of botanists, a few researchers and scholars made a humble living taking in the vast foliage, while the equally few children did more of the same, except in a more playful fashion.

Among these aspiring botanists was an excitable boy with tame red hair and wide aqua eyes. He wore a buttoned evergreen shirt, short khaki pants, and some thick brown shoe boots. He also carried a pale brown rucksack. He observed each and every plant with zeal… a particular habit that he works through every day.

The stems and leaves of the plants were just as beautiful to him as the blossoms, even the surrounding colored grasses and medicinal herbs, and even the mushrooms and weeds that sprout about every which way. Indeed, this boy didn't discriminate when it came to plant-based love, yet he always found it painful to take away part of the botanical atmosphere, even if it meant being able to study it further in one of the humble shacks the locals call "lab".

Because of time constraints figuring into his next class, the boy could stroll leisurely through this wondrous realm of plants as he would like to, but instead took an analytical glance and kept whatever intriguing findings he observed as a quick mental note.

So the young boy's life continued in its usual leisure, as well as its usual complications…

"Ah…uwaaaaaah!"

The young boy aborted his peaceful stroll for a quick jog, and ran right into a crying girl on her knees.

She had medium-length scarlet hair and dark brown hair. She wore a flowing maroon dress with puffy sleeves and white lining.

The boy sighed upon seeing this sight. "Cierra… you tripped and fell again?"

The little girl wiped her tears. "…B-Basil?" She cried in a whimpering voice. "I'm sorry, but… but this time it hurts really bad…"

"Alright. Let me see. It's likely just another "boo boo", so you shouldn't worry so much." Basil said in a comforting voice.

Little Cierra nodded with tears clinging to her eyes. She slowly and hesitantly lifted her knees up.

Little Basil knelt by calmly to asses the situation. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite we he expected.

"One of my knees feels a little wet and sticky… but I didn't even trip on something wet…" Cierra complimented.

"This is terrible! Her knees are scraped! But… I can't just get Cierra riled up again by saying her knees are bleeding! What should I tell her?" Basil thought.

"Uh… please wait here! Just give me a moment and I can help make the pain stop!" Basil claimed before running off.

"Okay" Cierra uttered quietly.

She was still wincing a bit from the pain, but she felt a strange sense of comfort within her.

A few moments later, Basil came back with a few gathered plants, a pitcher, a white cloth, and a green mixture in a wooden bowl.

"This is sort of a special "boo-boo", so I'll have to do a few extra things." Basil explained as he got the pitcher ready. "I'm sorry if this'll hurt a little, but please bear with me."

Basil poured some water lightly on the wound to clean the blood. Cierra clenched her teeth, and a few tears came out, but she managed okay without further whining. He then put the bowl at his side and scooped some up with his fingers and applied it to the wound. Cierra grit her teeth again at first, but then a cool, soothing sensation started relieving the pain. After that, he neatly tied the white cloth to cover the wound accordingly. With his little routine finished, he dusted his hands off and grinned proudly.

"There! Good as new, right? Just leave that cloth on until the "sticky" sensation goes away, and you should be just fine!" Basil explained.

Cierra slowly rose to her feet and gazed at Basil for a moment. A soft smile slowly formed on her face.

"Th…Thank you Basil." Cierra uttered in gratitude.

"Good to hear." Basil grinned. "But I think we better hurry. Class is about to start, and we really shouldn't keep the teacher waiting!"

"Okay!" Cierra cried back.

The scarlet-haired girl grabbed onto Basil by the hand, and the youthful pair took off.

* * *

Later on, inside the village's local botany nursery, a teacher was lecturing and inquiring her students on the knowledge of flora and fauna.

She had long, wavy pink hair with a neat white headband, and wore a crème long-sleeved shirt with a red dress.

"So, can anyone tell me about this flower?" The teacher asked while raising a picture of a blooming blue flower with petals arranged in a cup-like shape.

While some of the students were momentarily stumped, an eager one raised his hand. The teacher pointed to this hand.

"Yes, Basil?" she asked.

The red-haired student nodded gratefully.

"It's a Blue Mist Flower, Ms. Liz! They say in most parts of the world, it's rare flower said to bloom only in the higher altitudes during the fall, but I've heard they're actually quite the commodity where the conditions are perfect for abundance, like Mineral Town and Forget-Me-Not Valley!" Basil answered.

Liz clapped his hands. "Very good, Basil! You know, you've really got the hang of your studies lately!" She praised.

Basil rubbed his head bashfully. "You… really don't have to make a big deal out of it. It's just… I really like getting into it with all the plants around, you know?"

The avid student was met with a mix reaction of jealous glares, looks of admiration, and a few gazes of awe. Out of all of these criteria, Cierra fit the last one.

"Ugh! It's no fair! Basil's being a teacher's pet!" One boy blurted out.

A few other students cried out in agreement.

Liz giggled in amusement. "Oh, no. I'm assure you Basil learns this for good reasons and holds just as much genuine interest as some of the rest of you. Maybe if you took some time to study the plants around you, you wouldn't be struggling so much." She suggested.

Most of the class groaned while Basil sank deeper into embarrassment.

* * *

Class ended in a few hours. Cierra prepared to head off towards one of the bigger greenhouses for a personal study until she got cut off by some of the fellow boys of the village.

"Well, well! If it isn't the village klutz!" One of them sneered.

"I heard you took a pretty big fall this morning! How'd it feel?" Another teased.

"H-hey! That's none of your business!" Cierra cried. "Can't you guys just lay off?"

"Why should we? It's pretty amusing hearing about all your little screw-ups!" the sneering boy smirked.

"Yeah! Tripping over left and right! Causing explosions in class for healing solutions! I see you're even trying cooking now and setting fires! This is too awesome!" Another boy laughed.

"I doubt you're burning down kitchens just for the heck of it! You're trying to impress someone, aren't you? Alright, tell us who the lucky guy you're char-broiling salads for!" a third boy taunted.

"STOP IT!" Cierra shouted.

"Face it, "Cierra the Scarlet Ditz", you'll always be the town failure and you know it!" The sneering boy told her.

All the boys laughed at her mercilessly while Cierra was on the verge of crying. She was able to withhold bawling aloud, but she couldn't hold back the onslaught of tears. The laughter continued to roar without stopping as Cierra sat there helpless alone.

Suddenly, the laughter halted altogether when the apparent leader was sent to the ground.

An out of breath Basil arrived on the scene with a face red with anger.

"What is wrong with you guys?! Cierra's just trying her hardest in what she does and all you can do is make fun of her for it? What you're doing is wrong!" Basil lectured with a stern face.

Apparently, the boys were too frightened by Basil's show of strength and flocked to their fallen leader.

"….Get out of here! I don't want to see ANY of you near Cierra and pulling this again, GOT IT?" He threatened.

The pack of boys nodded vigorously before picking up their fallen leader and fleeing the scene.

Basil then turned to Cierra with a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry, Cierra. I didn't know they were doing this all the while." Basil apologized sincerely. "If I had stuck around you more, I could've prevented this sooner and—"

"No, it's okay. Like you said, you didn't know, so I'm okay with it." Cierra said with an innocent smile.

"No it's not! Bullying and teasing is always wrong! I'm surprised you didn't say anything about this sooner." He argued.

Cierra sighed. "What's the point of saying a thing? They're right… I'm just a clumsy ditz and failure. I can't get anything right. I'm just… hopeless." She thought to herself.

Basil noticed her depressed expression, and decided to confront her directly.

"Listen, about what they said: Don't listen to it. Any of it. I know you're always trying your hardest to succeed, Cierra. I don't understand why things are hard for you, but don't ever give up. You have a good heart, so I know you'll eventually get it right if you still keep at it. If anything… you've always been a good friend to me. Isn't that a worthwhile accomplishment?" Basil told her.

Cierra's face turned partially red as she felt a funny feeling in her stomach.

An awkward silence remained between the two of them as their eyes met.

"A good… friend?" Cierra thought to herself.

Somehow, those words meant far more than anything else to her at that moment.

* * *

Lunch soon came, and Basil was munching on a salad of locally grown produce and a nicely made humus taco, while Cierra was enjoying a delicious fruit sandwich.

Eventually, eating time came to abrupt halt when a young girl with short light blue hair and violet blue eyes approached the pair with a red boxed lunch.

"Ah…B-Basil…" the girl said in a hushed tone.

"Oh, Iris! Good Afternoon!" Basil greeted cheerfully.

Iris' face flushed upon hearing Basil's happy voice.

"Ah, er… ummm, yes. I, uh… I seemed to have made quite a few treats for dessert, and I'm afraid I can't handle it all. If you want, could I possibly share a few with you?" she requested.

"Oh, wow! That's sure generous of you, Iris! How about sharing a treat with Cierra, too?" Basil suggested while pointing a thumb at his lunch partner.

Iris panicked slightly upon seeing the red-haired girl. "Ah! Y-Yes! Of course!" She cried while opening up her lunch box. One side held a delicious looking salad with fettuccini while the other had a few stacks of jam-filled cookies. She then took out the cookies and distributed them appropriately.

"…Ah…. This is the first time I've actually tried baking. Please let me know what you think." Iris softly requested.

All three of them took a bite of a cookie simultaneously. Iris watched on hesitantly while the other two chewed the cookie meticulously. After finally gulping down the crumbs, Iris was met with thumbs up approval by both of them.

"This tastes fantastic, Iris!" Basil exclaimed.

"Wow! Is this a raspberry filling?" Cierra asked.

Iris nodded quickly. "Yes… I gathered some raspberries grown around here and used them for the jam." She explained humbly.

"Well, you really know how to make this sort of sweet!" Basil praised.

"…R-really?" Iris stuttered.

Cierra grinned. "It's delicious!"

"Of course!" Basil replied. "Please… let me know when you're planning on making something else. I'd be more than happy to try!"

Iris' face turned bright red as she resisted forming an enthusiastic smile.

"Ah… Th-thank you! And I will!" Iris said before skittering off.

"So, Iris is trying to become a good cook, too? I wonder what's motivating her. Well, whatever is, she did a really good job on the cookies. I hope she can keep her inspiration and stay at it." Basil grinned.

Cierra gazed up to see Iris fading in the distance.

"Yeah…" she uttered softly.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Cierra was busy at work with a personal project in a lab when Basil barged in.

"Hey, Cierra, what's up?" Basil asked.

Cierra withheld pouring in a chemical into her main substance as she turned to greet Cierra.

"Oh, I'm just trying to make another special potion! I'm really hoping that it won't explode this time!" Cierra exclaimed.

Basil groaned while Cierra laughed nervously.

"So, what is it for this time? Are you trying to get some supernatural effects again, or---"

"No, I've decided to pass on the advanced stuff and go for the basics. I'm going to try and work myself up like I should've done instead of going for high experiments. Besides, I'm thinking the lab won't face as much damage that way." Cierra explained in slight embarrassment.

"…Well, I guess that's good." Basil replied. "So then, are you going to specialize in medicinal work instead?"

Cierra shook her head. "No, I'm still going try to work my way into "special" science! There's just so much we can do with herbs that many people probably don't even realize! We still have all these resources to try out!" She exclaimed.

Basil smiled. "I'm glad to know that you're still enthusiastic about your goals."

Cierra nodded. "You're right! I can't let a few pain-in-the-rears to get the best of me! There's just so much for me to do! I HAVE to improve if I ever hope to be an accomplished chemist!"

"I'm sure you will." Basil assured her. "I can tell you really enjoy that sort of thing, like how I love botany so much."

Again, Cierra came down with a slight blush when she noticed Basil's pleasant expression.

"…yeah…" Cierra uttered softly.

"Still, your experiments have had me curious for quite a while, I must admit. What is it are you trying to accomplish in the long run, anyway?" Basil asked.

Cierra looked hesitant to respond at first, but she just couldn't say no to Basil's enthusiasm.

"…I want to create a special potion… that can help deal with one's feelings…" she confessed.

"What, like a love potion?" Basil asked curiously.

Cierra's face nearly matched the color of her hair at that point, but she somehow recovered her composure quickly.

"Uh, n-no… not exactly. Actually, in a way, it is, but… it's not to make people fall in love with you, or vice versa. This potion… it's supposed to make people feel more comfortable and honest with their emotions… so they could do special things they'd normally feel too squirmy to do so, like… confessing their feelings for somebody." She explained hesitantly.

"Hmm… that sounds like an interesting twist on familiar magic. And that sounds like that could actually help out a lot! I've heard that there are so many people in the world who have a hard time confessing their feelings! It's a bit sad as well, because I'm thinking some of them might have missed out on something great because they were never able to say it. I'm really hoping I don't become so tongue-tied when I find someone special to me." Basil replied.

Cierra lowered her head in embarrassment.

"You have no idea… how many girls feel the same way about you, do you?" she thought to herself with a blush.

"So, how are you going to make such a potion?" Basil asked.

"Actually, I found this old book on Alchemy the other day, and I stumbled across the recipes for a Love Potion and a Truth Serum. There was a little explanation in a later Chapter that explains how to mix the ingredients of two recipes to blend the effects of two potions together. Maybe… If I can figure out the right combination, I just might be able to do it." Cierra further explained.

"It would sure be nice to see you succeed at it." Basil responded. "In any case, I'm glad to see you have something aspire for. You always seem to be out for others' interests in the end, and I really like that about you."

Once again, Cierra's face nearly blended in with her hair.

She looked at her good-natured friend straight in the eyes, and slowly smiled.

"_Thank you, Basil… you've always been there for me, even when I'm down, haven't you? I… I'm still not sure if I'll be able to live up to my dreams, but someday, I just might make at least one of them come true. Yes… one day I'll fulfill my dreams of telling you how I feel, and just maybe… I just might be able to do it without the aid of that potion."_


	14. Charms of A Dillema

**Chapter 11**

"Jill…. Jill! JILL!!!"

Ray awoke with a start and a yell inside the local Clinic.

"…Jill… I have to find her. After that whole incident at the Library, she looked so upset. I'm not sure how she's coping, but… I have to make sure she'll be okay."

He turned to his right to see Maria passed out on a bed right next to him.

"Mary… I was desperate not to have her be affected by the love curse, and yet…"

His heart pounded wildly as his mind raced madly.

"I… I'm not sure what's going on with me. I feel relieved, yet frightened at the same time. No, Maria should be just fine here. I have to reach Jill…" he uttered to himself.

"Oh… so one of you has finally woken up. What a relief." A soft voice said aloud.

Ray gulped. "That sounded like a woman…" he panicked.

The fisherman desperately tried to turn away from the source, but it was too late. His eyes quickly met with the hazelnut eyes of Gina, the Clinic's nurse. Aside from the round frames over said eyes, she also had braided sky blue hair, and wore a frilly sky blue dress.

"Good day, Ray. Did you sleep well?" Gina asked with a sweet voice.

"Oh no, don't tell me…" Ray thought.

Oh, there's no need to worry. Whatever has been going on with your system has worn off now." Gina assured her. "We did a thorough check on Miss Maria as well, and she should wake of just fine."

Ray nodded in relief. "That's good to hear, but…. Jill. There's something you should know." He started.

"Oh, yes. I remember you crying out her name in a panic while you were unconscious. I was curious about that." Gina shared.

"So, by the conversation taking place, I take it that Ray's awake now?" A composed masculine voice called out.

"Yes, Doctor." Gina confirmed.

"Alright, then…" the voice replied.

Suddenly, a tall young man with raven black hair stepped into the picture. He wore a typical white lab coat, over an olive green shirt and tie, along with a pair of khaki pants.

"I've checked out all the ladies who've been acting peculiar as of late. Apparently, they don't seem to remember what they've been doing under the strange influence they were under, so we simply let them resume their daily lives. However, I will have to examine you further in case the substance you had contained unexpected toxins. You should be thankful Rothe was able to explain everything to us. I believe I'll have to have a talk with Cierra about all the trouble caused today, however." the Doctor explained.

"Alex… thank you, but… there's something important I need to say." Ray said.

"Yes, it has to do with Jill, right? Rothe told us a little about the situation, but I'm afraid I'm still ignorant about her current condition… or whereabouts as of late." The Doctor stated regretfully.

"WHAT?!" an outraged voiced cried by the stairs.

A furious Jack rushed up the stairs to meet everybody else.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? YOU MEAN, NONE OF YOU KNOW WHERE MY SISTER IS?!" he shouted.

"Please, Jack. Calm yourself." Alex coolly suggested to his friend.

Ray lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Jack." He said.

"Ray… what happened? Rothe told me to come here, and that it concerned my sister, Jill." He said while gritting your teeth.

"I'm sorry…." Ray repeated. "It was just… things got hectic at the Library with Maria because of this tea I drank, and… Jill slipped in and panicked by what she saw. I…. tried to stop her, but I guess I ended up here somehow."

Jack covered his eyes with a hand and shook violently. "Jill… I know it's really hard to tell, but she can get moody so easily… we can't be sure if she's safe without knowing her whereabouts."

Gina gasped. "… Is she---"

"No, but she can be real careless sometimes. She tends to get hurt without proper supervision, and unfortunately, she can be one hell of a master at "hide and seek" with a place as big as this." Jack shared.

A long period of silence prevailed within the Clinic. Not one person moved an inch while they all contemplated the situation.

"Alex, I'm sorry, but I have to go out there and seek out Jill!" A determined Ray cried.

"Please be patient. We have to check and see if there are any toxins in your body, and---"

"It's my fault for hurting Jill, so I must take responsibility. Please forgive me." Ray interrupted. He nodded his head once to the Doctor, and again to Jack before taking off.

"Ray, hold up! I'm coming with you! She's my Sister, you know!" Jack cried out before leaving to catch up to his fisherman friend.

Doctor Alex sighed. "This is reckless. We should've just informed everyone and formed a search party."

Gina grinned. "Well, we're still here. Why don't we do just that?" She suggested.

Doctor Alex sighed again as he nodded in agreement. "Very well. Let's inform the Mayor right away so we can assemble as soon as possible. I know how concerned he is about his daughter, but I'm sure he'll understand enough to aid in the search."

Gina nodded back. "He's still waiting downstairs waiting for Maria to wake up, right?"

"Yes." Doctor Alex merely uttered.

Immediately, Doctor Alex went downstairs to inform the Mayor of the situation at hand, but Gina hesitated a moment to see the resting Maria off.

"Please don't worry, Miss Maria. We'll try and solve this crisis as soon as possible so we can return to look after you." Gina whispered softly before joining the mayor.

Unbeknownst to the others, Maria just happened to be awake enough to hear the entire conversation.

_"Oh gosh, Jill… I'm so sorry…"_


	15. Charms of Sympathy

**Chapter 12**

Outside, Jamie's pursuit of Jill lead him towards the mines.

"Did she have to make it so difficult? I can't believe she can run so fast… I almost lost sight of her." Jamie sighed.

The unnerved rancher stared curiously into the dark cavern.

"It's strange, though. That girl looked upset, and she runs straight into here. But dark places make her nervous… did she really loose it now?" he uttered to himself.

Without any more hesitation, the purple-haired rancher head straight into the mines.

Inside, the place was devoid of much light aside from the few feet that came in through the entryway. Even more eerie was the overwhelming silence. Not even a sniffle of the distraught Jill could be heard.

"Hey! HEY!!!" Jamie cried aloud in frustration.

Despite Jamie's harsh tones, he looked around in frantic concern.

"Don't even bother hiding yourself. I SAW you run here! I don't even know where you got the sense to run where you'd end up scaring yourself, but you're coming back out! I will NOT be happy hearing you scream your lungs because of some act of impulse!" he shouted again.

Still, there was no response.

The violet-haired rancher let out a sigh.

"Aright, fine… I'm not going drag out you outside, but what sense is there in do you isolating yourself in the type of place you're scared of? I saw you outside the library and you looked upset. You really shouldn't be doing this do yourself." Jamie cried out.

The lack of responses bothered him even more, but he wasn't about to give up the search.

"Great… still nothing. Not even a whimper. She must be treating this like a game of hide and seek to keep me from finding her. Is she that upset now?" he thought to himself.

He then recalled a few past moments he spent with the childish farmer. Ever since a chance encounter on Mount Moon, Jill has been rather clingy to the gruff young rancher. Even in his foulest of moods, Jill had somehow the man as "Mr. Nice Guy", a person that she'd freely go to whenever she had something on her mind. Whether it was about her fears, aspirations, deepest regrets, or fondest memories, all of these thoughts ended up reaching Jamie's ears.

And in all those times, even when she would make a fuss, Jamie didn't really mind at all. In fact, he admitted to himself that it was a welcome distraction from his usual brooding. And through these distractions, he came to learn that Jill had a unique sense of perception along a kind of maturity that was rare even among adults.

Their relationship evolved from an awkward friendship into a precious one… and in Jamie's case, his secret feelings started to dwell beyond that.

Deciding that nostalgia would offer little help at this point, Jamie's mind raced closer to the present for some detective work.

"What could've happened back in the library to make her run off like that?" Jamie thought for a moment.

It was then that the image of Ray entering the library crossed his mind.

"Wait, could that fisherman have---? No, that's nothing like him at all. We've fished together on that lone island a few times. We actually have quite a bit in common… except he's more naïve and less driven." He thought. "That man doesn't have the gall to do something indecent with that Librarian girl… especially with an audience watching. So then why---"

His thoughts were interrupted with the image of Flowerbud's newcomer.

"That WOMAN! Now that I think about it, there was an odd aura surrounding that fisherman today. She must've done something to him that could've caused misfortune! Damn!"

His mind then recalled the various moments of infatuated women going after Ray, and was strongly reminded of Jill's feelings for him.

Jamie clenched his two fists, then breathed in deeply.

"It can't be helped…" he uttered in a quiet growl.

The rancher then relaxed his body and continued his search.

"Jill, whatever the heck is bugging you, you don't have to be afraid of me, okay? Besides, don't you usually come to me about these things? Or did you forget?" he cried in a softer voice. "Look, I'm not expecting you to be your giddy self whenever you're around me. And you know what? You've even been… more relaxed around me, at times. So I won't care if the circumstances are different! You can come crying to me with rivers for all I care, and I wouldn't push you away! You can come to bother me regardless, okay?!"

Still, he received more of the same results.

"Maybe… maybe she went down to the 1st floor below." Jamie uttered to himself.

He decided to head towards the direction that he believed lead to the stairs. On the way, he bumped into a mysterious figure. Without a second thought, he reached out towards it.

"Gotcha!" he cried.

In response, he heard a vaguely familiar voice laughing nervously.

"Wow, Jamie. I didn't you know you wanted me that much… let alone acknowledge my existence." The voice chuckled.

Jamie twitched as he made out the face of an awkward young woman with a red ponytail and brown eyes.

"Jamie? Is… is that who we heard making a fuss above us?" a young man with messy black hair and glasses asked from behind the red-head.

"I have no clue what's going on in your heads, but I doubt you have the right impression here. I barely even know this woman" Jamie uttered coolly.

The pair of miners gulped.

"R-right… of course! Sorry for joshing you like that!" the red head said in a shaky voice.

"I don't even know what's going on!" the young man with glasses cried.

"Right." Jamie sighed. "Anyway, have any of you came across the pig-tailed farmer on your way up from the mines? I saw her come in here, but she didn't have any tools of her own. I believe she might be on the floor below."

"Nope. We checked the place again and there was nobody there. If you want, I can shine a little light around here and check the entrance for that scamp." The red-head grinned.

She then turned on a flashlight and slowly rotated to check every nook and cranny of the cavern. Her spectacled assistant and Jamie watched just as vigilantly as she kept the light moving.

Unfortunately, there was no sign of Jill anywhere. Not even the sound of footsteps trying to evade the light.

"Well, it looks your friend isn't here. Though I'm quite touched you actually have someone you hang out in this village. Say, are you guys playing tag or something?" the red-head asked.

Jamie shook his head.

"I just… saw her head this way, and I wanted to see her about something." Jamie answered in restrained frustration.

"I see. Too bad, then." The red-head sighed.

"I wish we could've been better help. Sorry." The young man with glasses lamented.

"Well, Lou, at least our haul of ores has been a big boon today! Maybe our good fortune will catch on and help this cowboy find his little sweetheart!" the red-head grinned.

"Please, Ann! Don't tease that guy! He's--- eep!"

The pair was left face to face with an agitated rancher.

"Uh, right… well, guess we better go, then! Good luck finding your friend!" the red-head cried before heading out in a hurry.

"SORRY FOR BOTHERING YOU!" the red-head's partner nearly screamed before following behind.

Jamie's deadly gaze changed into concern as he realized he was duped somehow.

"Yeah… that girl is too good at these kinds of games, somehow. But that means… she must've found out that I was following her! Is she really upset to the point that she'd rather not bug me about it?! Just great!" he mentally shouted in frustration.

After coming to that conclusion, the determined rancher marched out of the mines to find out Jill's real whereabouts.

"All this means now is that I HAVE to find her! Think, damn it! Where would she go? What would be the sort of place she would go to relax?" Jamie thought.

Sometime later, at the peak of Starry Hill, Jill was looking at the view with tears in her eyes.

_"Jamie… I'm so sorry… but I just can't…"_


	16. Charms of Life and Love

**Chapter 13**

As the day wore on, the teary-eyed Jill continued watching the sky while resting her arms on the wooden railway.

She was ruthlessly haunted by numerous memories where she had driven away Ray, but the prominent picture that loomed in her mind was one of Ray and Maria together.

It was an awkward sorrow. Despite the sharp pain that overwhelmed her heart like shattered glass, she was filled only with sadness.

"It's only my fault that I'm hurting, right?" Jill asked herself.

Suddenly, visions of a smiling Ray then came to her. The weary girl formed a weak smile, but her tears intensified as well.

"No… I won't deny that we were happy together. Once he got over his fear of girls, we actually became fast friends. I was surprised… after all those times I scared him off, I thought he would never talk to me, but Mr. Ray was still so kind and generous to me… offering me a lesson in fishing, and his hand in friendship. Sure, my brother had to convince him to talk to me, but he chose to meet me on his own. He didn't want to keep hurting me, and I was glad…"

Her weak smile soon gave away, however.

"But… I was just a little sister to him all this time, right? He HAD to keep my spirits up because he felt like I was family… I'm still a child who hasn't grown up at all, right? How could I deserve him? That entire time when he was afraid of girls… when he was afraid of ME… he couldn't handle being near me, but all I could think about was being close to him and hope he would like me back. All I did was act selfish to Mr. Ray…"

Her body began to tremble, and the wooden rail started to crumble.

"I hate this… all I'll ever be is a child, no matter how much I try to grow. It wouldn't even make a difference if I ever told him of my feelings… because it's a confession from a mere child. It's impossible to take a child to be taken seriously for something like that…it's… only… my fault…"

And once more, she was pierced with the painful memory of Ray and Maria.

"…Mr. Ray… Miss Maria… in the end, that is it… it was her you would blush at whenever she was around… it was her you would always look at with eyes of awe… it was her you always deeply admired… I could feel that all along, but I couldn't hate her. She's a true grown-up… and she lives in the same kind of world you live in… the same kind of world a girl like me isn't welcome in. She's so smart and pretty, and even calm… she's the perfect lady! I can't blame you for liking her… and I can't blame her for liking you in return… you're really nice, Mr. Ray…"

The troubled girl buried her face deep in her crossed arms as she could no longer hold back her suffering. At that point, her arms began to be rinsed in her very tears.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ray. I really want to be happy for you... I really want to be glad that you can find happiness with someone…. but… I just can't… I wanted to say that I love you…"

Young Jill started to stifle her restless tearing.

"My tears…. can't make anything better… but I still can't stop…. it won't let me stop… I'm still so useless…. Mr. Ray, Big Brother… Jamie… everybody… I'm… so… sorry for being useless…"

Her body trembled uncontrollably and caused the wooden rail to shake a little. Her weight enforced on the rail also pushed it forward slightly. Eventually, the force of her hunched body caused the rail to split apart. The severed section of the rail started its descent down the mountain, taking the depressed girl farmer with it…

"!"

Jill inhaled an anxious breath as her body reacted quickly and pushed herself off the severed rail. Unfortunately, she could do so in time to make it atop Starry Hill's peak once more. Instead, she found herself staring blankly at the sky as a sole hand gripped the edge of the cliff.

Despite the sudden panic, Jill's youthful energy and will to live was practically drained by heartbreak. She could barely hold on with the little strength she possessed. She couldn't let out a cry for help. All she did was stare and hyperventilate with the threat of imminent death.

Suddenly, a gasp was let out as Jill held onto dear life.

"Oh Goddess…Jill!" a voice cried.

The farmer girl was too panicked to properly identify the voice. But she reacted by holding on tighter.

"Jill! Please… Please don't let go! You need to live!" the voice cried out.

Emotions returned to the tender girl's racing heart as her eyes began tearing once more.

She let out a faint cry of panic as the voice sounded closer.

"Jill! Hold on, I'm coming!" the voice cried.

"Ah… Ah!"

Gradually, the frightened girl started to recognize the voice. But it only served to deepen her confusion.

"But… how could they know---"

"JILL!" the voice cried again.

This time, Jill felt a hand clasp her own very tightly.

"Don't let go… please, don't let go!" the voice urged her.

Gratitude and Confusion swirled into Jill's deterred heart, but she decided to heed the voice's words.

"I don't understand…" she thought to herself.

Still, the young farmer gained newfound strength to survive the ordeal.

As the stranger's secure hand worked to pull her back up, Jill herself strived to push herself up the mountain and out of harm's way. After being pulled up a few inches, Jill's rescuer reached her with both hands and doubled the effort to bring her back up. In a matter of moments, the farmer was lifted safely into solid ground and into the arms of her savoir.

"I don't understand… how did you know I was here?" She thought to herself.

As she was warmly embraced, Jill could only help but see the silky blue hair of her hero.

"…why did you save me, Maria?" she thought.

"Thank goodness… thank goodness…" Maria uttered aloud as she wept.


	17. Charms of the Heart

**Chapter 14**

A cool silence passed over Starry Hill. Jill continued to let her tears fall from her eyes as Maria held her in tender relief.

The confusion of the past few moments still weighed heavily in the girl farmer's mind. She wasn't sure how it came to be that her rival in love was the one that saved her, let alone why it was she came to see her in the first place. All she could to was stand back and feel grateful for the life that was saved.

"I kept warning Father we needed to renew the rail, but he was always too assured it would hold together, even if it's been ages." Maria said aloud in a trembling voice. "Thank goodness you made it…"

Jill felt a faint aura of sympathy and understanding coming from the relieved librarian, but it only made her more lost in thought.

"Oh Goddess, I was so worried when I heard about you… I don't know what I would've done with myself had I allowed you to die back there…" Maria continued.

And then Jill felt from Maria a tinge of guilt crawl into her.

"…she feels sorry about everything? But… it was all my fault! I'm the one who was a selfish child!" she thought.

Suddenly, Jill felt herself pulled tighter into Maria's embrace.

"H-how… did you know I would be here?" Jill asked in a hushed tone.

"Starry Hill… you have the best view of the mountains along with the rising and setting sun… I know they say it's the perfect place for lovers on special nights, but I've seen for my self that it's also a good place to get over heartache, too…" Maria answered.

"Hm?"

Jill formed a curious look on her face as she continued to peek over Maria's shoulder. The Library maiden decided to push her back gently and make eye contact.

"Jill, I have to say… what you think you saw back then was a big misunderstanding. I'm not involved with Ray… but still, words alone won't convince you otherwise, huh?" Maria explained in a gentle tone.

"Maria… I---" Jill began, but a gut feeling told her to hold back while Maria continued speaking.

"Still, I know what it did to you. I can see it in your eyes… I know what you're feeling right now, because I've felt it too. Heartbreak isn't something easy to overcome, but it wasn't supposed to be your time… you shouldn't have experienced it when it was my fault." Maria continued, with a few tears falling from her eyes.

Jill stared at the young maiden with shock in her eyes.

"Maria… she hasn't noticed yet. Ray's feelings… no, this can't go on like this…" she to herself.

She then noticed Maria's own sorrow gradually coming out and fell silent in both speech and mind.

"I can't see if your heart is meant to be completely severed from Ray's hands, but please understand… no matter what, your life has meaning. Please don't think once about throwing it away because you still have a future worth seeing. And you, especially… you have friends and family that want to be with you and look out for you, so please think of theme too…" Maria pleaded.

"Maria… why are you telling me all of this?" Jill asked in concern.

Maria smiled faintly.

"Because for a very long time… even before my first love… I felt lonely…" Maria answered.

Jill blinked.

"Lonely? But why? Miss Maria is a real lady… much more of a grown-up than I could ever hope to be…" she thought to herself.

"Back then, I still stayed cooped up in the Library, but it felt more like a prison I contained myself it. No one in the village was an active patron… barely anyone came by at all. I was just stuck in the library by myself… merely reading to myself. I wasn't sure why at first. I had just assumed it was a long run of coincidental days of bad business. But then on one of my Monday strolls, I caught on to the village gossip. "Maria is plain and dull", I heard. One of the Carpenter's apprentices would groan at the sound of my name and complain about how "boring" I am, and some of the girls would say how much of a "prude and burden" I would be if I were invited to one of their discussions. At the very least, Ray would come over every so often to look at books of fish, but he would always run off when I offered to help him. Before I knew about his past gynophobia, I once thought he did that because he deeply despised me. It made sense in my mind: he was a poor man who had only his hobby to live off of, while I was born to a privileged family. So I thought that in truth, nobody really liked me. So… I felt alone…" Maria told.

Jill thought back and remembered her first few days in Flowerbud Village. Although Ray still struggled to overcome his fear of women, she distinctly remembered making fast friends with many in the village, even Jamie. She soon felt her own guilt and pity emerge in her heart.

"It was around the time that the hospital was finally built that he came. I admit, he only came around as part of research for his job, but at least he did come… and he actually acknowledged me and spoke with respect."

Maria's fond grin perked Jill's interest even more.

"Doctor Alex… he actually spoke to me on good terms… and I was deeply grateful for his company. Of course we became good friends and respected colleagues with time, but somewhere along the line, his visits started to have a deeper impact on me. When he would speak to me like he usually did, I started to feel… some part of me deeply drawn to him... perhaps, infatuated…"

Maria's grin was quickly joined with a blush.

"Yes… perhaps it was because he was the only one who ever showed me compassion, or maybe I was just genuinely smitten with him, but whatever the case, my feelings for him grew deep. So I harbored this fondness for Doctor Alex for a very long time, wondering when that ideal moment would be. The moment of truth did come to me eventually, but in the worst of ways. That fateful day, I came to learn that Doctor Alex's feelings were for his faithful nurse, Gina. At the same time, I saw that a few others had unrequited feelings for the Doctor. One of them even confessed, and caused the panic in the good Doctor. He knew I was there, but he never once looked at me in his sudden shock. I knew immediately that I was out of the running from the very beginning, and I felt alone again from my rejection… I was even in doubt of my life's worth once more…"

The Librarian's nostalgic cheer plummeted, and became overwhelmed with tears.

"It was so hard… dealing with that loneliness… and the one who brought me out ended up sending me back into it… I know he was clueless about how I felt, but it still felt so cruel…"

At that moment, Maria looked like she was about to come apart from her painful past.

"But…I was lucky to have your dear brother there at the time. He helped me overcome my loneliness and see my life's worth. May the Goddess bless him."

Maria then bowed her head in humility with a soft smile.

"I started to notice patrons come by more often at that point… and we would share a few conversations. Alex and Jack, especially. Your brother would share with me how he's doing with his farm and wife, and I retained a friendship with the good Doctor as we talked about medical advancements and dabble in poetry and philosophy. I saw that there is hope even after heartbreak and loneliness… and I decided for myself that I couldn't let it ruin others' lives."

Jill felt a slight pound in her heart. She felt envious at how grown up Maria looked before her very eyes, but at the same time she felt even more sympathetic towards her.

The teary-eyed Librarian then brought her hands up and clutched the farmer's shoulder's tightly.

"Jill… you've always had so much to be happy for, and you still do. Your brother always told me how outgoing you were back at your home and how you would make friends effortlessly. Be thankful, because I was practically born alone…. I think I might even be jealous of your gifts."

Maria smiled tenderly at the girlish farmer, though one more tear managed to escape her eye.

Reluctantly, Jill began to speak up again. "M… Miss Maria… Ray, he…"

"Ray's a good man." Maria said with a nod. "I know in my heart he would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. Personally, I'm not sure if I truly feel for him at the moment, but I'm sure he would like to hear what you think about him."

"Miss Maria…" Jill uttered shakily. "What I saw… that still doesn't change anything before then…"

The blue-haired maiden tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I could see it in his eyes whenever he spoke about you. He's already been in love with you, Maria…" Jill confessed with an awkward smile of her own.

"What?"

"And don't deny it… you actually care for him deeply, too. I can feel it…" Jill managed to get out.

Maria stared back dubiously at Jill as if she had just seen a ghost and wasn't sure whether or not it was real.

"Jill? But… I---"

"I still want to tell him how I feel, but… I don't want to be the one that keeps him from being happy, too... Miss Maria, thank you for showing me you're a good person. I think I'll feel better somehow no matter happens after this." Jill finished.

Maria was left speechless. She was left staring at the relieved Jill with shock and uncertainty.

"She… spoke to me like she was a self-assured psychic. That's… impossible, but why do I feel like she can clearly look into me? Sure, I care for Ray, but I'm not sure if my feelings run that deep. But it was strange. That last time he approached me, it felt like an outside force was desperately trying to pull something deep within me and bring it to light! Could that hidden feeling have been my innermost emotions? Jill… you don't have to be so submissive because of one incident between him and I. It was just---"

Suddenly, her train of thought was cut off by the sounds of trampling and shouting.

"Jill!! Jill!" various voices cried.

"Big Brother? Jamie?" Jill answered back curiously.

Sure enough, the two ladies turned their heads to see those very men in a sprint, bested by a certain man in vagabond's clothing.

"Jill! Oh. Good! You're safe…. Maria? What are you doing here?" Ray cried.

The proper young lady chuckled aloud nervously.

"I'm, uh… sorry! It's just, I woke up all of a sudden, and I thought a breath of fresh air in my favorite spot would do me a lot of good instead of being stuck in a stuffy hospital." Maria explained.

She then turned her head to the side with a fearful expression.

"Everyone will only be angered if they knew I exerted myself trying to get over here for Jill's sake. It's been too hard of a day on me without all the potential scolding." She thought to herself.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad we finally found Jill! And everyone's alright!" Ray sighed in relief.

He then rushed over and gave the girls a three-way bear hug, which resulted in all of them blushing.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever held a woman like this, let alone too…" Ray realized in his head.

"Does he have to make it so tight? Oh well, at least I know he's being affectionate." Maria thought.

"Mr. Ray! I can't believe it!" Jill squealed in her mind.

Once the other men caught up, Jamie gawked while Jack grinned cheerful at the scene.

"How about that? It's like a family of non-relative buds. How touching." Jack cried out.

"Uh… Big brother!" Jill cried back in embarrassment.

Eventually, Ray's conscious awkwardness towards women came back to him, and he promptly released the too.

"I guess… the moment got to me a little, didn't it?" Ray said while rubbing his head in embarrassment.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing! You're just showing off your compassionate side, you know?" Maria answered.

"Yeah… you're so sweet, Mr. Ray." Jill squealed with a bashful look.

"…Right…" Ray answered back with a nod and a blush.

At the same time, Jack took a good luck behind the jovial threesome.

"Wow, looks like someone did a number on the wooden rail. Looks like couples will exposed to a little more of a refreshing breeze from this side." Jack remarked.

Maria and Jill looked back briefly at the trauma they had just endured, while the guys looked on with a mix of concern and curiosity.

Suddenly, Jamie marched to the ladies' side with an unpleasant look on his place.

"Jill, did you---"

"There was a bit of ordeal when I saw Jill here, but as you can see, everything turned out okay!" Maria interjected with a nervous smile.

"Yes, that's clear as day, but I wasn't talking to you." Jamie groaned. "Jill! You actually got yourself in big trouble here?"

The farmer girl laid her panicked eyes on Jamie's stern ones, and her tears came flooding back.

"Jamie… I… I…"

"You DELIBERETLY lost me back in the mines so you could be all alone, didn't you?! Did you even once think about what sort of mess you could get into by yourself?!" Jamie shouted.

Jill's body trembled once more as she became fraught with guilt.

"Jamie… I'm sorry… I couldn't handle seeing you this way.. I---"

"THAT ISN'T AN EXCUSE!" Jamie barked.

"JAMIE! LAY OFF!" Jack shouted.

For the first time since the two rival farmers met, both Jamie and Jack stared at each other with equal contempt. It seemed like the standoff would last for ages until the brown-haired farmer noticed something within the perpetual grump.

"Yeah, I know. Jill still did an irresponsible thing here, but…. bah. I was never the good disciplinarian with her. But she's used to you being all hard on her... fine. I'll let you handle this." Jack thought to himself.

Outwardly, the spry farmer simply sighed and shrugged as he stepped off to the side and smiled reassuringly at his little sister.

Jamie then snatched Jill swiftly by the shoulders, but his grip was surprisingly gentle.

"That just isn't how the little farm girl I know works at all, okay? What I've come to know is that you've made a good habit of bothering me with whatever's on your mind no matter what crazy mood you're in. I wasn't expecting an exception to the rule…" Jamie said gruffly.

"But… I thought… this would be too big of a bother for you…" Jill sniffled.

"Of course it would be a bother for me! When hasn't it been? But honestly, if there's any time I'd expect you to be bothering me about something; it would be about this sort of thing! Yes, you're upset! Do you think I'd punish you for it? As much it annoyed me, what the hell happened to thinking I was "Mr. Nice Guy?"" Jamie complained.

"…Maybe… I thought… I could finally show you I can be a real grown-up… and not bug you so much…" Jill answered.

For a moment, Jamie's face turned redder than any fruit out there, but it soon faded away quickly.

"Don't be ridiculous! Being a grown-up isn't anything like that at all!" Jamie refuted.

"Hey, whatever happened to "Trusting no one but yourself" and all that jazz?" Jack remarked.

Jamie let out a fierce growl while Jack laughed to himself in restraint.

"Yeah, you're better off trusting yourself with things, but… no one is invincible to painful feelings. It would be stupid to think otherwise, so they have to be dealt with one way or another…" Jamie explained.

"Jamie… are you saying I can count on you if things get really bad for me?" Jill asked with a titled head and drooping eyes.

The purple-haired cowboy gulped at the adorable expression before him.

"It's better than running off to do something completely stupid because of it!" he reprimanded. "You've came to me with a lot of ridiculous thoughts in the past… coming to me with something serious might actually be worth my time…"

Little Jill clutched her heart. Although her heart still lied with the rugged

fisherman, her trust remained with the reluctant "nice guy".

Slowly, but surely, the little farmer approached the grumpy rancher until she sobbed long and heart on his poncho.

"Jamie… I'm sorry…. I was so scared and lost… I just couldn't talk…" she confessed.

Jamie then proceeded to stroke her head gently.

"Well, don't be… you can actually hold a good discussion when it counts." He answered with an unexpected smile.

"Yes, and don't be afraid to talk to me if it's something between ladies. I'll be more than happy to spend some time with you." Maria insisted.

"And… I guess I'm open as a friend, too, if you want. Though I feel kinda responsible for this." Ray added nervously.

Jill turned to see the fisherman's guilty look.

"Mr. Ray… I don't blame you at all…" she answered with redness in her cheeks.

Ray sighed. Although he didn't get over his guilt by Jill's words, he was relieved to know that Jill wasn't upset with him.

"Eheh…. Thanks." Ray answered.

"Right… so then I'm a useless Older Brother that's worth squat, right?" Jack chimed in.

The others looked towards the lone farmer and bowed their heads in apology.

"Er… apology accepted, then? In any case, we should probably head back to the hospital and let the other search parties know that everything is alright. I'd rather not have them continue a goose chase at this point." Jack finished.

"Right." Ray nodded. "And maybe tell them about the broken rail, too."

"I told Father we needed to do something about the old, splintering rails immediately, but he wouldn't listen! Let's just bring it to the attention to Woody and his boys, seeing as how it's their specialty." Maria suggested.

"Right. I don't think I deal with a death in this land out of sheer carelessness." Jamie groaned.

"Then let's get out of here, already! We've just made it clear there's too much business to take care of, so come on!" Jack cried.

Soon enough, the capped farmer lead the way down Starry Hill will everyone else followed.

Jill stayed close to Jamie's side, while Maria remained near Ray's. However, the two ladies appeared more preoccupied with each other than with their men.

"I am certain this will end up working out better for all of us." Maria said to Jill in a hopeful tone.

Jill nodded. "And someday I'm going to be completely open and honest about my feelings. I can't give up yet… even with what I know."

Maria nodded back silently.

"I'm not even sure where my feelings lie at the moment, so it'll be okay for now." She thought to herself.

"Jill? Maria? What are you two talking about?" Ray asked.

Both girls faced the fisherman with awkward smiles.

"Ah… it's a "girl" thing! Sorry, Mr. Ray." Jill answered.

"Oh… okay. I won't bother you again." Ray said before facing forward again.

While the ladies kept moving forward with content faces, Ray's looked rather worrisome.

"I guess I still have a lot to deal with, huh?" he thought with a sigh.


	18. Charms of a Precious Bond

**Chapter 15**

After a long hike through Mt. Moon, the plant expert pair made their way through the cavern leading into the Goddess Spring.

Once inside, they were greeted with the wondrous sights:

Rows upon rows of lively fauna surrounded the clear spring, which itself appeared to have a magical aura to it.

"Oh my! Just look at this, Basil! It's just like the time we explored the Ancient Sanctuary of Yggdrassil!" Cierra squealed.

The hardy botanist nodded.

"Yup! This sight never gets old in my mind! It's a shame I never showed you the Spring earlier, eh?" Basil beamed with wonder.

"I wonder… do you think some of the grass here could possess the same properties as helikraut? Just thinking of the possibilities is giving me the goose bumps!" Cierra cried.

"Hold on, Cierra. You only brought a container enough for the Spring Water, remember?" Basil reminded his colleague. "But if it will put you at ease, whatever that can be gathered between the two of us can be kept in my pack. It would be a shame to deprive a fellow enthusiast of some studies!"

Cierra nodded with a tender expression on her face.

"…Thank you, Basil." She uttered softly.

"Not a problem!" Basil grinned back while tipping his cap at the same time.

At once, Basil got out a plastic bag and carefully picked a few grass samplings around the cave, while Cierra took an enclosed glass bottle and twisted open the top. Just as she was about to scoop up a swig of Spring Water, she paused for a moment and gazed curiously before her.

Right before her were three miniature elf-like sprites garbed in simplistic clothing with conspicuous pointed caps. Each was fully dressed in a designated primary color.

Three sprite stared back nervously, and so both parties continued in a very awkward staring contest. After awhile, the three sprites "lost" and went into a huddle.

"Oh Goddess… you think that woman can see us?" the sprite in yellow asked.

"I… I don't know for sure, but she seems to be looking right at us! Most likely she can hear us, too!" the sprite in blue gulped.

"Do you think… the lady might have a "special heritage" or something? That's how it worked with Jamie and Jack, but Jamie… er, arrived under special circumstances, and Jack's supposed to be descended from the hero who helped out this land and the Goddess ago while possessing a good heart at the same time. The only other condition is if the subject in question is of magic descent."

"Actually, I think I've seen that face before." The sprite in red mentioned.

"WHAT?!" the other two sprites exclaimed.

The one in red nodded.

"Yeah, you guys wouldn't know since you're relatively new here, but years ago, I remember seeing this witch in haughty clothing come here. She has the same expressions and long red hair like this lady! I think she even called herself the Scarlet Witch! Jamie would know! He met the Witch herself when she stopped by Flower Bud!"

The other two gulped.

"A-a-a-a-a witch?!" the yellow one babbled nervously.

"Like that troublemaker Minerva from Forget-Me-Not Valley?! No… that girl's a maniac that causes mischief to no end!" the blue one panicked.

"I don't know. The Scarlet Witch was actually friendly compared to the Obsidian Royal Clan. I'm sure her descendant won't mean any harm!" the red one assured her. "It's just… there was one thing about that witch I was wary about…"

The red critter's companions delivered stunned glares towards their knowledgeable friend.

"What is it?!" the blue sprite demanded.

"Yeah! If her ancestor was friendly enough, what DO we have to worry about?!" the yellow one exclaimed.

"Uh, if memory serves well… The Scarlet Witch was a complete klutz with an amazing screw-up rate! And considering this girl's lack of experience in the magical world, she just might expose us! Or even ruin the spring!" the sprite in red explained.

All three gulped once more, and then turned their attention back to the scarlet-haired professor.

Cierra replied with an innocent giggle and used her free hand to reach out towards the sprites.

The three gathered even closer and started quivering in fear. The yellow sprite then let out a squeaky cry of fear.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

But Cierra's hand refused to cease. She continued reaching out in the sprite's direction… then went right past to snatch a mushroom behind them and raised in the air.

"Say, Basil! I think we have a really good sample to study here! Who knows what kind of properties the spring water might offer fungi?" Cierra announced.

The eager botanist accepted the mushroom from his partner an eyed it curiously.

"Interesting. I actually saw this same mushroom not too long ago, and it already grew to this size! I guess this spring has some properties that enhance the growth of surrounding plants, huh?" Basil noted.

"And what a hypothesis to look into!" Cierra grinned. "And to think, if that mushroom is of an edible variety, it just might make the perfect compliment to any meal!"

"And if not, we could look forward to the possibility of a new age wonder cure!" Basil added.

Cierra giggled once more as she recalled what she witnessed before the mushroom.

"So… those were the Harvest Sprites my grandma used to keep telling me about, huh? They're just so tiny and cute! I've always wanted to see one when I was a girl and thought the old village would be a perfect hangout for Harvest Sprites, but I guess not…" Cierra thought. "Oh well, I've been treated today! Too bad Basil can't see them, too. It would've been great if he could get in on my old childhood fantasy. Then again, those sprites didn't exactly look like people sprites."

Once again, Cierra took her bottle and dipped it into the Goddess Spring. She then removed it a moment later and placed it at her side. With both hands, she scooped up another portion of spring water and sipped it for herself.

"Wow… this is very refreshing…" she voiced in awe. "It really does feel blessed by a Goddess."

"Y'know… the interesting thing is, Goddess Spring was named for the Harvest Goddess that was said to reside here. About a year ago, I used to see a beautiful statue of the rumored Goddess here, but its eyes appeared to be full sorrow." Basil explained.

"Really? Wow… that sounds like a romantic piece." Cierra replied.

"Well, it was… but, it seemed out of place in a spring full of life. Like the statue itself yearned to be of flesh once more."

"Then… what do you think could've happened to it? Goodness! Maybe it was stolen while it was left in the open like this!" Cierra exclaimed.

"No, no… I have an odd feeling it wasn't stolen. At the same time, I think… it was meant to be gone. This place has felt more peaceful since the statue's departure, actually." Basil finished.

"Basil… you don't think statue was---?"

"I don't know. If that's the case, I'm glad she's free now. It must be terrible to be imprisoned that way for whatever reason."

Cierra nodded.

"It must be especially painful for those who've come to love the prisoner, too…" she thought to herself.

For awhile, the two took in the beautiful sights and gathered bits and samples in earnest, while the three sprites looked on.

"So, uh… this doesn't count for them as defiling the spring, does it?" the sprite in blue asked.

The sprite in red shook his head.

"As long as they don't gather too much of the greens and excessively exploit the Spring Water, the spring itself should be fine. And I don't think these two are planning either." He explained.

"Oh, alright. But let's just keep an eye on them, just in case." The sprite in yellow suggested.

While the three continued watching on, Basil found himself deeper in his work.

"Now that you said it… this really does remind me of the old times!" Basil said with nostalgia. "The Isle of Riviera and a number of our other expeditions were quite similar to this! Wondrous lands, exotic plant life, and a sense of adventure with each journey! That was the life, huh?" Basil cheered.

"It certainly was." Cierra nodded in agreement. "Each experience was magical, you could say. Especially with a traveling companion as hardened and as knowledgeable as you, Basil. You were always so kind and helpful… even when we were kids."

Basil turned towards the Scarlet Professor with a gracious expression.

"Really, Cierra? Heh, that's very nice of you to say." He said.

"No, honestly… I've always appreciated your help. I know I've said it over a thousand times, but I've always meant each and every one of them. Thanks Basil..." Cierra said with a bright and cheery, although somewhat reddish face.

"And I'll be more than happy to accept your thanks. You're Welcome, Cierra." The well-mannered botanist replied.

After an exchange between friends, the both of them continued eyeing samples from the spring, but the Scarlet Professor appeared distracted being lost in thought.

"_It's true… each trip we took was a memorable and magical experience. Whether it was the beauty of the scenery, the passion embroiled in our work, or the nightly starry sky, it was all so breathtaking… and oh so romantic. If I was asking for the most ideal setting for a romantic confession, I couldn't have asked for any better than the places I've seen with Basil… including this one. And yet, even know, I'm always hesitant. But I understand… every one of these occasions, it was always for work. It wouldn't be right somehow, confessing under such circumstances. I still haven't let go, though. Even at the University with all of those young adults I have to teach, I'm still thinking about him, and everything I've been through with him. He was a big part of my life, and he still is..."_

She then gave a heavy sigh while she carefully placed the bottle of Goddess Spring Water into a pouch.

"_As much as I yearn to tell him, I know this still isn't the right time… maybe it won't be in a place as lovely as this or any other trip. Maybe it will be back in Asgard University should he come to visit, or maybe even back at the old village for a reunion. But I know for sure the right time and reason to finally say it! When I do, I want it to be because we went somewhere just to be together! Not because of work, where we'll be too caught up to see each other straight in the eye!"_

Cierra turned to catch a secret glimpse of the man she appreciated for so long.

"_You know what? It's still a goal of mine to help those troubled hearts. This new potion would be the cornerstone of that goal, and at a time, I believed I would be needing it the most. But now that we've grown up, I don't think it's necessary for me anymore. I know I can still be a little clumsy and scatterbrained half the time, but I don't see myself as a failure anymore. I actually feel confident… and eager to pursue my studies. I owe this and so much more because of your support. Maybe someday soon, I can pursue a life between the two of us. Again, thank you, Basil. You'll always be the greatest guy to me…"_

At that moment, Scarlet Cierra had a fond smile enhanced by the beauty of a woman in love.

"By the way…" Basil suddenly spoke.

"Ah! Er… yes?!" Cierra squeaked.

"Have you met that old pupil of yours, yet? Rothe, I believe?"

"Oh, no… I've meant to pay a visit to her as soon as I arrived here, but I've been having a hard time finding her farm! Even Ray had trouble leading me to her place, unfortunately!" Cierra answered.

"How odd… I used to see that city girl everywhere in the village, but now it's like she disappeared since you came around!" Basil informed her.

"I wouldn't worry! I doubt Rothe's the kind to get herself into trouble! She was one of my brightest students, you know! And with the village being this small, I'm sure we'll run into each other eventually! There's no way I'm going to miss a reunion with one of my favorite pupils, you know!" Cierra said with a chuckle and a wink.

Outside the Goddess Spring, the Asgardian girl herself in green blazer happened to approach the cavern curiously.

"Alright! Maybe Jill went by this way! The Goddess Spring is one of the most relaxing spots in Flower Bud Village, so she should be just fine! No worries!" Rothe told herself.

Just as she got closer to the Spring, Rothe's ears suddenly perked up as she heard a very familiar giggle. Upon hearing it, Rothe made an immediate about-face with a frightened face.

"O-O-O-O-On second thought, it sounds like another group made it there, and it doesn't sound like they found our missing girl! Oh well! I could always check the Guest House on the other side! Maybe Jill's having a tea party by her lonesome self! Yeah, that's it! I hope I can make it!" the city girl reasoned.

Immediately afterwards, Rothe took off like a rocket, narrowly avoiding a regrettable encounter.


	19. Charms of Truth

**Chapter 16**

Later that night, Cierra finally got back to work on her experiment at the Spring Home to add the finishing touch: A few ounces of Goddess Spring Water. Once again, she had to boil the substance to make sure the new ingredient would mix thoroughly enough. Eventually, after being cooled down, the red liquid emitted falling blue smoke instead. Cierra took a careful waft of the substance and checked her book for good measure.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed.

The proud Professor then poured a portion of the concoction into a small vial and placed a top on the bottle with the remaining.

"Ray! You can come, now!" The beaming red-head cried.

But she received no response.

"Come on, Ray! I'm certain this won't produce bad results this time!" Cierra cried again.

Reluctantly, the fisherman himself headed reluctantly into the kitchen and gave a courteous note. Cierra herself replied by bowing her head in regret.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ray! I didn't know my little experiment could've been mistaken for a harmless tea of all things! I realize I should've kept the materials out of reach from Nina dear, or at least placed a "Do Not Touch!" sign or something!" Cierra squealed.

"It's… okay…" Ray uttered. "Since this is about that strange drink Nina offered me, don't worry! It already wore off earlier today, so I don't need an antidote or anything like that! Doctor Alex already gave me a check-up! I should be just fine!"

"Oh, no. This isn't an antidote! I already got an account of the situation by the Good Doctor! But I still need a test subject for my real potion now, you see?" Cierra explained.

Ray gulped.

"What is the potion SUPPOSED to do, then?" Ray asked nervously.

"Oh! Something more useful than what you been through, actually!" Cierra answered. "It still a "love potion" in a way, but it's actually supposed to work internally."

Ray's eyes dilated.

"You mean, I'm supposed to fall in love with whoever I see instead?!" Ray panicked.

"No, no! That wouldn't do either!" Cierra cried.

She then showed the vial to Ray and eyed it fondly.

"Actually, it's potion that's supposed to work out awkward feelings and clear your mind. If you feel indecisive between a few people in your love life, this miracle drink should be able to quell anxious feelings and allow you to realize who it is you're really in love with. And if it's really just the anxiousness of telling the one you love that's holding you back, or having doubts about really loving said person, the potion should remove those anxieties as well. Consider it a problem-solver and a confidence booster at the same time!" Cierra explained.

Ray blinked in amazement.

"What makes you think I might have real love troubles? Other than the ones that were caused earlier?" he asked.

The Scarlet Professor smirked.

"I saw the way you act around the librarian Maria and adorable farmer Jill. It's uncanny, actually." She said with a giggle.

"Wh-what?!" Ray exclaimed.

"But… but the one I feel more "unusual" around is Maria! Jill is the one who's been the affectionate one! Even if she makes me feel a little funny, too…" he thought.

Cierra proceeded to hum a playful tune as she waved the vial in front of Ray.

"Perhaps you are in love with one of them for certain, but maybe you still have a little problem to get over, right? I have a feeling that making that big step towards your life in love will finally take care of it for good." The Professor suggested.

"… my phobia of women?" Ray cried. "But… who---"

"Oh, yeah. That. Liz is quite the gossiper, you know. She's been very good at helping me get to know the villagers before I can meet them personally! I'm especially glad to know how well the marriage between your friend Jack and his wife Lyla have been working out! They even offered you a few times to spend the night with them, right?" Cierra revealed.

Ray merely gawked at her.

And again, Cierra giggled aloud.

"Don't worry about it too much, though! It's not like she gave me psychic powers or anything!" she joked. "But honestly, please take this potion! Maybe it can help you out!"

For awhile, the fisherman looked intently at the vial. Inside of it was a very familiar liquid… the "Ruby Tea" that had caused so much trouble earlier. But this time, it has been refined to create a different effect. Could he trust the words of the Scarlet Professor? Is it a chance that he's willing to take? And if so, is there some value worthwhile enough for him to gain?

So many thoughts swirled within the fisherman's mind, until the agonized faces of Jill and Maria popped up in her head.

"I can't to this to them any longer…" he concluded. "I can't stand hurting those poor girls."

With a nod, the Scarlet Professor handed over her dose to the young fisherman.

He then held it in front of his face and winced.

"Oh, Goddess. Please let this work!" he prayed.

Ray hesitated a little while longer with his eyes closed, while Cierra watched back in awe. Eventually, the fisherman tilted his head back, plugged his nose out of formality, and poured the whole thing in his mouth. The potion sloshed around in his mouth a bit until he forcibly swallowed the whole thing in one gulp.

"Huh. Now it tasted like refreshing fruit-flavored spring water." Ray noted to himself.

Moments later, Ray felt a cooling sensation that flowed into his entire body. His mind underwent a sudden deep meditation while his soul underwent a deep cleansing. All of his feelings spiraled and swirled until his excess fears were washed away. He was then left with the truth…his pure feelings.

Suddenly, Ray awoke with redness in his cheeks. He recalled in his memory a gentle face he cherished, and two awkward faces he couldn't bear to see.

"So, then! How was it?" Cierra asked.

"It's strange… I feel better, yet worse at the same time." Ray replied quietly.

"Really? How so? Are you still confused?" Cierra further asked.

"No… everything's clear now. That's why I feel worse about it… actually, I don't feel all to different from before, expect with a few new things." Ray explained.

Cierra nodded with an intrigued expression on her face.

"Yes, Go on…" she urged.

A faint smile formed on Ray's face.

"What I wasn't sure about at first, is perfectly clear to me… I love Maria… very much. But Jill... she's done so much to me. I feel like I have to really make it up to her, somehow." Ray explained.

"So, what does it all mean to you? What are you planning to do with these feelings?" Cierra asked.

"I think… it will still be hard, but I want to try and reconcile with Jill before I share my feelings with Maria. I'd rather not leave anything undone have everyone better off in the end, but I don't know how to go about that yet, unfortunately." Ray sighed.

Cierra nodded.

"I see…"

Ray then approached the Professor with a slightly disdainful expression.

"I don't understand. I thought you said this potion of yours would make things easier for me." Ray sighed.

"I said it would clarify things for the drinker." Cierra corrected. "I never said it would offer you the perfect answer, unfortunately."

Ray then turned away and walked a few paces away from the kitchen, then stopped.

"Oh, well! At least it won't make the girls in this village become too attached to me like last time, right?" he cried in relief.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'm a little fond of you already." Cierra answered.

"Wh…wh-what?!" Ray babbled.

"Relax, relaxed! I meant that in a friendly matter! Didn't mean to flirt there, it was a joke!" Cierra explained.

"Oh. Well, p-please don't joke like that! I'm still a little jumpy from the first time!" Ray cried with a twitch.

"S-sorry!" Cierra squeaked.

For a little while, the room when silent with neither one budging, until Ray once more attempted his leave.

"Thanks, though. At least… I was helped… a little." Ray uttered aloud. "I think I'll go sleep now. Maybe would a good night's rest, I'll figure it all out."

He then stepped out of the kitchen and made his way towards the house's exit.

"Good Night, Ma'am." Ray announced once he reached the door.

"Good Night, Ray." Cierra said back.

And soon enough, the fisherman twisted the doorknob open and finally made his departure.

Cierra's eyes then turned towards her newly concocted potion and fashioned a tender smile.

"You're a good man, Ray… kind of like Basil, really. Maybe one day we'll both get lucky, and we'll all finally find that well-deserved happy ending, right?" Cierra thought to herself.


	20. Charms of the Future

**Final Chapter**

** Charms of the Future  
**

The following day, Ray woke up at Doug's Inn just in time to greet the morning sun. He went downstairs to briefly meet the Inn's chef before he departed.

"Hey, Ray!" Gwen greeted. "Sweet seeing you at the Inn this morning. Are you thinking about having a bite to eat before you go out today/"

Ray shook his head. "I'm going to head out and fish for breakfast myself." He answered.

"Oh, that's a shame! I was really hoping to get my first customer so soon! And knowing a fish maniac like you, you'd be able to help bring my fishy dishes to dining perfection, you know?" Gwen said in disappointment.

"I wouldn't be too sore about it. All the meals I've had here so far were great, so you shouldn't worry! Besides, you have other customers' tastes to cater to, and you've done a great job with them, too!" Ray grinned.

"Thanks, Ray!" Gwen beamed. "I really notice Bob eating here often, too… but I'm beginning to suspect it's about more than the meal."

"I see…" Ray noted. "So, um… do you happen to remember anything out of the ordinary from Yesterday?"

Gwen gave the fisherman a funny look.

"No. Not really. Why?"

"Oh… okay! Just wondering! You know, yesterday was a bit of an off-day, and everyone got absent-minded for a bit." Ray said in excuse.

"Right… well, I admit I felt I was a little out of it for one moment, but I'm alright now." Gwen said while rubbing her head.

"Good to see you're fine, then!" Ray replied.

Gwen nodded slowly.

"…Thanks…" she said reluctantly.

"Well then, I'm off! Good luck with your business!" Ray cried before he left the Inn in a hurried fashion.

An awkward Gwen was left standing in the kitchen with a slight blush and a fuzzy head.

"I... would be better off not knowing what went on yesterday, huh?" Gwen uttered to herself.

Right outside, Ray was heading off to begin his day of fishing until he ran into an unexpected presence.

"Good Morning, Ray…" a familiar purple-haired rancher called out solemnly.

The wandering fisherman nodded in response.

"Morning, Jamie." Ray greeted back.

The tension in the air built up considerably as the two men stared each other down.

"I caught wind of went on yesterday… with Jill." Jamie said in clear voice.

Ray stood silent for a moment.

"I see… so you did know…" Ray answered back. "I get it. You care for her... a lot. She's a good friend of yours, and you'd rather not see a good friend get hurt."

"And she cares a lot about you…for good reason." Jamie interjected.

Ray looked at the purple-haired poncho man curiously.

"So what is this about, then?" he asked with a raised brow.

Jamie let out a long sigh.

"I'll admit that I'm still frustrated after everything. Too many things went wrong… but the one I'm mad at the most right now is myself." He explained.

"No… it's alright if you hate me. I'm not too happy about myself, either." Ray confessed.

Both men's heads dropped in regret.

"I could, but I won't… if anything, this was that visitor's fault. But I'm not pleased that I managed to let Jill slip by me and almost allowed her to get hurt." Jamie growled.

Ray looked up.

"You have no ill will towards me, whatsoever?" Ray asked.

"None." Jamie answered immediately. "If there's anything I've learned about you, is that we're a lot alike, somehow. I understand you too well; you're just better at having a positive attitude towards the world."

Ray nodded.

"I admit, I always did feel a similarity between us aside from our shared hobby. That lone island might have remained silent when it was just us two, but I still felt communication take place …" said Ray. "But one thing didn't feel right… I honestly don't think you can take solitude as well as I can."

Jamie eyed him suspiciously.

"What?!"

"When you're as experienced as I am at this sort of thing, you can tell when a man has someone precious to them that they want protect more than anyone. I'm still in the dark who it was before, but you're not denying that you're fond of Jill." Ray explained.

Jamie tightened a fist for moment, then loosened it and clutched his open hand.

"I don't like seeing those that actually have a meaningful purpose to fulfill being hurt, that's all." Jamie explained.

The fisherman grinned.

"You're a regular lion-heart, not afraid to do anything for those you care about. I envy that about you…" Ray confessed. "Maybe someday I can learn to be like towards the people I care about."

"You will. You're a good man." Jamie assured him.

Ray's ears perked up upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but give the guy a funny look.

"Did you actually just compliment me?" Ray asked in a raised voice.

Jamie remained silent and unfazed as he turned his head to the side.

"You're a friend of a good friend… and I guess for sometime, a friend of mine." He explained coolly.

"Really? Well then… thanks." Ray said with a relieved smile.

Jamie tugged his cowboy hat closer to his eyes.

"Anyway, let me be clear on this point: Jill looks up to you… a lot. Her eyes are on you, so mine will be as well. But I'll trust you. You better be honest with her… and take care of her." He ordered.

"Alright, I will…" Ray swore. "After all, I care about her too."

"Good."

After the exchange, Ray started off again and took a few steps past Jamie, then stopped to face him again.

"Later, then. Don't worry. I'll be good to her…" Ray said.

Jamie replied with a grunt of agreement.

"You're a good man, too." Ray added.

Afterwards, the fisherman went on with his business, leaving the serious rancher alone. The lone rancher then let out a big groan.

"It looks it will still be awhile before I can finally tell her…" he grumbled.

* * *

At Spring Farm, Basil decided to pay his old colleague a visit. 

"So, Cierra! How did your experiment turn out, by the way?" Basil asked.

"I guess you can say it was a success, for the most part." Cierra replied.

"Really? Congratulations, then!" Basil cheered. "But, you act as though there were still a few issues… are there?"

Cierra sighed.

"Just a few variables I didn't count on." She answered. "The potion worked as it should, just not in the way I hoped."

Basil nodded with a sympathetic look.

"I see… well, I'm glad this time you were able to get the right results." Basil said in an encouraging tone.

"Right! It's not like it's a total setback! With what I've gathered from the results, I just know it will still do the people so much good! Even if won't always bring out complete relief, it will at least bring people one step closer to finally finding happiness for themselves!" Cierra cheered.

"Say, what is this special potion of yours, anyway?" Basil asked curiously.

The Scarlet Professor giggled.

"That'll be a secret for now, I'm afraid." She answered with a wink.

Suddenly, the pair heard a meow coming from somewhere in the kitchen. Cierra quickly rushed towards it and picked up her new pet.

"Oh! By the way, Basil! Have I introduced you to my new friend, Gateau? The little cutie decided to see me one day, and I just couldn't bare to leave it alone!" she squealed.

"Ah, that's the stray I've seen wandering around the village!" Basil recalled. "I'm glad you're compassionate enough to care for that cute cat, but… I believe a stray like that is better left taking care of itself in the wild, don't you think? Besides, the Village environment is pretty cat-friendly. It shouldn't be harmed by any natural predators out here."

"But Basil! I would say that this adorable thing finally deserves a home were it can be well cared for! A cat this lovely is in need of a good mother!" Cierra exclaimed.

"Ah, Ciera---"

"Basil, please…"

The friendly Botanist was forced to witness the face of The Scarlet Professor's pleading eyes, along with the equal appeal of the wide-eyed stray's, which let out a pinning mew.

Basil gulped. He was outnumbered and overwhelmed with the combined efforts of the caretaker and pet.

"Alright, fine. Just… give it roaming space from time to time. That cat should still be more used to the outdoors." Basil advised.

Cierra then faced her cat with a giggle.

"See? Papa Basil can be very understanding!" Cierra said with a nod.

"Nya!!!" Gateau mewed ecstatically.

Suddenly, Cierra gazed blankly while Gateau titled its head to the side.

"Nya?"

A thought then came to the young lady.

"I almost forgot!" Cierra exclaimed.

"What is it?" Basil asked.

"Rothe! After all this time, I said I'd try and find my favorite student, but I keep forgetting somehow!" she explained. "Sorry Basil, I think I better take one more trek around the Village. It's best I do this now while I still remember. A week could go right by before you know it!"

"Funny… I've seen that city girl around the village plenty of times. It shouldn't be too hard to find her. Oh well." Basil thought to himself.

"Good luck, then! I have some business to discuss with Liz for the moment, so I won't be able to help like before." He said aloud.

"Really? Aw… that's a shame." Cierra pouted. "Oh well! At least I still have Gateau to accompany me this time!"

"That's great! Have fun then, you two!" Basil grinned.

Cierra nodded.

"See you later, Basil! I have an old student to see!" Cierra proclaimed before making her exit.

For a moment, Basil kept his eyes on the entrance door where Cierra just left.

"After all this time and Cierra's good heart still hasn't changed. I'm glad…" Basil said with a heart-warming smile

* * *

Meanwhile, at Rothe's farm, Jill was having a lively chat with the owner while she worked on her fields.. 

"Hey Rothe, guess what? Yesterday ended up being interesting to me." Jill announced.

"Really? Well, that's um… neat, I guess." Rothe replied while wiping her brow. "Er, did you mean that in a good way, or bad way?"

Jill shrugged.

"I'm not sure if it was really a good or bad interesting, but everything did turn out better in an odd way." Jill explained.

Rothe stood upright and looked at her conversation partner curiously.

"Really? How so?"

Jill chuckled nervously as she started rubbing her head.

"Well, ah… I guess this is an odd way to start this off, but… I confirmed that Mr. Ray's in love with Maria." She started.

Rothe gulped.

"Oh, so… she did discover something between those two, after all. Poor girl…" Rothe thought to herself.

"Yeah, that was pretty hard. But at least I'm not so much in the dark about his feelings anymore. Strangely enough, I'm a little relieved to finally know the truth." Jill confessed. "But they're still not together…" Jill continued.

"So, are you planning on running interference and let him know about your feelings?" Rothe asked.

Jill shook her head.

"I'm certain… Mr. Ray has his set on Maria now. I doubt I can change it," Jill admitted. "But I still want to tell him of my feelings. He deserves to know that much… and even though I know it's not highly unlikely he'll return my feelings, I'll finally have it out of my chest." Jill answered.

"Then what about Maria?" Rothe pointed out.

"That's the more interesting part… she saved my life, actually…"

Rothe froze.

"Maria? Hold on! I heard your life was saved from impending doom while us search party people were seeking you out! I thought it was Jamie or your brother Jack or something, but wow… your rival in love saved you. That's just… different…"

"Yeah, I know. I was surprised there for a moment, too. But I guess that means she knows me inside and out, huh? It's strange… to think we actually have a few things in common when I've always seen her as someone so mature and different from me. She was actually very lonely once. I could never picture a wonderful woman like her that way..." Jill said.

"Well, I don't know. I think everyone goes through a period of loneliness at least once in their life. That's just how life works, you know? Even I've felt it myself, once… like a ton of bricks, actually." Rothe answered.

"No, not like that. Before any of us were here, when it was just my Brother who had a farm, barely anybody talked to her in the village. It must've been like a prison to her without having any company…" Jill uttered sympathetically. "Maybe… it will be for the best if those get together… if I can't be together with Mr. Ray like that. Besides, maybe I'll get over it. I still have you and Jamie, and even Big Brother! And Mr. Ray will still be friends with me, so it should all be okay!" Jill cried with strong hope.

"Glad to see you're having a positive attitude about all of this!" Rothe grinned. "So, how's things been with Maria then, with the whole life-saving thing?"

"Oh! I think we're friends now! We talked it over, and she said she wanted to spend some of her free time with me! Actually, today we we're supposed to go fishing with Ray real soon, and---"

"Jill!" a voice cried.

Rothe smirked as she saw Maria come running by.

"Well I'll be! Looks like your new buddy decided to come to you today!" she remarked.

"Actually, we agreed to meet on your farm! I thought you wouldn't mind." Jill confessed.

"Nope! I'm cool with it! I don't take you guys as the type to destroy my crops, so there shouldn't be a problem!" Rothe said with a wink.

"Thanks, Rothe." Maria replied while giving a polite bow.

"No need for the formality, really, but you're welcome." Rothe said back.

The blue-haired maiden then turned towards her new friend.

"Hey, Jill! I thought you said Ray would be the first one here. Where is he?" she asked curiously.

"Sorry, I don't know! Maybe he got held up by someone?" Jill guessed.

Suddenly, she remembered Jamie out of his Ranch earlier in the morning.

"Jamie? Could he be why Mr. Ray isn't here? Oh no! Don't tell me he's actually angry at him!" Jill panicked.

"Hey everybody! Sorry I'm a little late. I had to talk with a few people…" Ray's voice suddenly called out.

"Ray!" all three girls cried in excitement.

At that moment, Ray's face turned slightly red and gulped.

"It's like that crazy tea is working again." He thought in a panic.

"You girls don't happen to feel a little strange right now, do you?" Ray asked.

"No. I'm perfectly fine." Maria assured him.

"I'm okay, too!" Jill chimed in.

"Why? Is there something we should know?" Rothe smirked in amusement.

Ray shook his head.

"N-no… j-just...checking to see if you're all okay." He stuttered. "So, are you all ready for a day of fishing?"

"Yep!" Jill chirped. "This time I'm going to catch a big one for sure!"

"And I look forward to getting a few pointers firsthand. I've read up quite a bit on fishing since you've spoken to me about it, but I just wasn't sure if I have the skill." Maria answered.

"Don't worry about it! Fishing is a game of patient for the most part, and you're good at that! You can leave the rest up to me!" He assured the librarian.

"And I'll do what I can to help out, too!" Jill added.

"Thank you, the both of you" Maria uttered softly.

Ray then turned towards the elder farmer.

"So Rothe… you want to come and join us? I know how much you love fishing, and as you know what they say: The more the merrier, right?" Ray asked.

Rothe sighed.

"Ugh! As much as I'd love to, no… sorry. I just started watering my crops. I might as well get through them all before lunch time!" Rothe said with a tinge of regret.

"Oh! Well, sorry to hear about that. At least you're getting done with your responsibilities, eh?" Ray replied.

"Yeah, I am! But what about you, still running around like a hobo?" Rothe teased.

"Oh, come on! You know my fishing is my line of work! It isn't much, but I manage to make a living!" Ray defended.

"Oh, I don't know… from the looks of it, your fishing "job" doesn't seem all that much like work to me." Rothe said in a suggestive tone.

The fisherman gave Rothe a funny look, but was quickly pulled closer to Rothe's face.

"Especially with those two girls with you. From where I'm standing, you look a regular fishing pimp with a girl in each arm! Don't tell me you're trying to add me to your little harem, are you?" she whispered in Ray's ear with a wide smirk.

Poor Ray jerked away with a ripe red tomato face.

"It's not like that at all!" Ray exclaimed.

Rothe reacted with a few slaps to her knee and laughter abound, leaving an awkward Ray and two puzzled witnesses.

"Geez! Can't you take a joke?" Rothe teased.

She then got closer to Ray once more with a more serious expression.

"By the way… have you got your feelings worked out for real, this time? I know you seemed to be leaning towards Maria, but this whole mess with Jill must've shaken you up a bit, eh?" Rothe whispered.

"Yes… I'm certain this time that I love Maria. But I just can't leave Jill alone like that. She's a good girl, you know? And I really want to find a way to let her down as gentle as possible and make up for it." Ray explained in a hush tone.

The wily farmer thought back to Jill's words not too long ago.

"_I'm certain… Mr. Ray has his set on Maria now. I doubt I can change it, but I still want to tell him of my feelings."_

"You know, under most circumstances, I'd say you'd be in for a world of hurt no matter how much you ease the blow, but I have a feeling in this case you'll be just fine." Rothe answered back in reassurance.

"Thank you. I'm glad you believe in me." Ray said in gratitude.

"Mr. Ray! Where will we be fishing this time?" Jill cried out.

"Hm… well, I guess we've already been around the usual village spots. How about somewhere special this? I know! Let's go by the harbor! I have something you'll probably enjoy a lot!" Ray suggested.

"Oooh! Cool! I get to say hello to the Dolphin!" Jill squealed.

"Dolphin?" Maria asked.

"Yeah! There's this cute dolphin that hangs out by the pier that I feed the fish I catch at the harbor! It's soooo friendly!" Jill cheered.

"Funny that you mention it! We'll actually be meeting that Dolphin and a few of its' friends as part of my planned trip!" Ray said aloud.

Jill let out an excited squeal while Maria giggled.

"Yay, Dolphins!" Jill exclaimed.

"This should be interesting… meeting dolphins." Maria said.

"Well then, come on! Let's go! Luckily for the three of us the pier isn't that far from here!" Ray cried.

The two ladies let out a hearty cheer while Rothe watched back and chuckled to herself.

"Alright, then! Leave me to my work and have fun you guys! Maybe if I can hurry it up, I can catch up to you and join in on the fun!" Rothe said aloud.

"Are you sure, Rothe? There's a reason we're meeting up with those dolphins. Jill's been good to them for a while, and I'm sure they'll easily warm up to Maria. Are you in good standing with the creatures of the sea?" Ray asked.

Rothe nodded.

"Oh, yeah! Aside from the wandering cat, the Dolphin's a good friend of mine! I should be pretty tight with the Dolphin clan at this point." Rothe said with a wink.

Ray chuckled upon hearing his good friend's words.

"Good to hear you're in good standing with the animal kingdom! Then again, that is part of a farmer's job around here, I suppose." Ray grinned.

He then turned towards his fishing companions.

"Well, we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's head out!" Ray ordered.

"Yay!!!" Jill cheered.

Maria replied with a quiet not and smile.

After Ray met with the two ladies once more, the trio turned towards Rothe for one last time.

"Good luck with the farm!" Ray cried.

"Remember to take care of your animals, too!" Jill reminded her.

"And take care of yourself, as well! Your health is just as important as your crops and livestock!" Maria added.

The three then waved towards their farmer friend as Rothe waved back.

"I'll keep that in mind! In the mean time, you guys make sure to catch some good ones for me, okay!"

"You got it!" The three fishers cried in unison.

And so, Ray, Maria, and Jill headed towards the harbor, leaving Rothe alone to tend her crops.

And being full aware of the strenuous work ahead of her, the busy farmer let out a heavy sigh.

"I just don't get it! How do Jack, Nina and Jamie handle tending their crops day in and day out? There's just so many of them, and it's a pain how fast you can get pooped just watering them every morning! Maybe I should've been like Jill and focus on animals with just a few crops, instead! I know the smell of chickens and livestock in the morning isn't exactly best thing to wake up, but at least I have fun looking out for the guys!" Rothe gripped as she proceeded watering the plants.

A few plants later, the city girl paused once more and looked out towards the streets with curiosity.

"By the way, where IS that old feline friend of mine, anyway? I haven't seen the fellow for a few days now. I guess that stray decided to venture out for a change. Too bad… it was really cute." Rothe said to herself.

"NYAA!!!"

The city girl chuckled pleasantly upon hearing that familiar mew.

"Oh, sweet! I was just thinking about you, little guy!" Rothe cheered.

She then turned around to face the direction of the noise.

And right in her sights stood a woman with long Scarlet hair, wearing a similar-colored blazer and skirt, carrying a white cat in her grasp and staring right back at Rothe.

"…Rothe?" Cierra uttered meaningfully.

Rothe's eyes dilated as she became overwhelmed with fear.

"Professor… Cierra?" Rothe uttered under her breath.

"Rothe! It IS you!" Cierra squealed.

Without a moment's hesitation, the eager teacher rushed towards her former student with cat in hand. At the same time, said student recovered all feeling in her body and decided to turn it towards the opposite direction and flee for her life.

"KIYAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

The End

_Moral of the Story: You can't hide from your past forever._

_ Well, at least that was the moral for Rothe...  
_


End file.
